About a mile from the town of Assisi in Italy laid a tiny ruined chapel of the Benedictines of Subasio. It was here in 1207 that St. Francis responded very literally to “rebuild [God’s] church” by repairing the chapel that would come to be called the Portiuncula (little portion) of Our Lady of the Angels.

Francis would later come to understand more deeply God’s call for him to rebuild the universal Church through the ministry of his friars, priests, and sisters that would come to bear his name. But the feast of Our Lady of the Angels every August 2 remained a favorite day to recall not only the humble beginnings of the order’s great founder, but the heavenly assistance it had received through the years from the Blessed Mother.

And so, it is not too surprising that on August 2, 1492 Christopher Columbus and his entire crew attended Mass before setting sail (unknowingly for the new world) in three ships, carrying with them Franciscan priests. Fr. Juan Perez, a Franciscan, said the first Mass in the Americas after a simple hut was erected following Columbus’ discovery of Hispaniola.

Many cities and towns in Florida, Texas, and California are named after the Franciscan missions that first took root to bring the faith to the indigenous tribes of America. One of these, Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, became what is today the city of Los Angeles.

As we celebrate our parish’s feast day today, let us thank God for the powerful intercessor we have in our Blessed Mother, the Queen of Angels. Let us also thank the Lord for the incredible missionary zeal of the Franciscan order that first brought the Catholic faith to the Americas.