The 15th annual Celebration of Cultures Mass will be celebrated Saturday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
The Mass is described as a celebration of the diversity of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with prayer, song and cultural expression.
The 3:30 p.m. Mass will be preceded at 3 p.m. by a procession of more than 25 communities with representatives wearing traditional national attire.
Some communities will carry an image of the patrons of their country of origin.
Nationalities represented at the Mass are from Europe, Central America, Asia and Africa.
Each year, a different community participates with a liturgical dance from their culture, known as prelude. This year's prelude will be presented by the Mexican community with Danza Guadalupana from Oxnard.
The theme of the Mass is "I am the servant of the Lord," inspired by Pope Francis' address at World Youth Day, according to Maria Guadalupe Aguilar, member of the Executive Board of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' Office of Ethic Ministry.
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The nearly 5 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles come from about 70 nations, with worship and ministry conducted in 42 languages, according to Doris Benavides, the archdiocese's associate director of media relations.
"I look forward to this Mass every year because it is like a family reunion with all our brothers and sisters from every nationality and ethnicity coming together as God's family to worship and give thanks to our heavenly Father," said Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, who will preside at the Mass.
More information about the Celebration of Cultures Mass is available at archla.org/cultures.
