Music, dance, energy, and the Holy Spirit were all present during the Liturgy of African Descent on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, for the celebration of the Religious Education Congress during this year’s Black History Month. LMU administrators, faculty, staff, and LMU’s African Music Ensemble filled the halls of the arena with music as 10,000 people joined them to praise and worship.
“The Liturgy for Catholics of African Descent was everything!” said Bryant Keith Alexander, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts. “It represented the shared commitments of a diverse diaspora of African peoples with recognizable tropes, figures, performances, and stylistics; unifying us in our shared faith.”
LMU faculty, alumni, students, and staff were present throughout the weekend at the congress, but it was especially meaningful and visible at this special service.
“It was meaningful to me that we offered our cultural gifts to the entire RE congress at a time when we as a Black community are particularly celebrating ourselves, as all communities do during various times and seasons of the year,” said Kim Harris, associate professor of theological studies and coordinator of the liturgy. “The majority of Black Catholics worship in churches where they are in the minority of the congregation or perhaps in a shared parish with persons of other heritages. It is then important in a gathering such as the L.A. Religious Education Congress to gather and celebrate as an African and African American family,” said Harris.
John Flaherty, chair of the Congress Liturgy Committee, said this inclusion is intentionally planned. “Los Angeles is home to many first- and second-generation immigrant communities that trace a direct connection to the African continent,” said Flaherty. “This celebration was a beautiful collaboration and work of the Black community.”
The celebration of the liturgy was vibrant, fun, and exciting. “While the Liturgy for Catholics of African Descent occurred in the end days of February, dedicated as Black History Month, the liturgy is in fact a call for the continued celebration of African/Black identities and faith practices through the year. This was an essential form of sustaining culture through a community of faith,” said Alexander.
