As Catholics across the Diocese of Sacramento gather to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas and one of the patron saints of the diocese, Bishop Jaime Soto will preside at celebrations in her honor.

On Wednesday, Dec. 12, the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Bishop Soto will preside at Mananitas at 5 a.m., followed by Mass at St. Isidore Church, located at 222 Clark Ave. in Yuba City. That same day, the bishop will preside at Mananitas at 11:45 a.m. and Mass at noon on the campus of Sacramento State at Hinde Auditorium in the University Union.

That evening, Bishop Soto will preside at Mass at 5 p.m. in St. Joseph Church, located at 1162 Lincoln Way in Auburn.

In 1910, Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared Patroness of Latin America and in 1945 Pope Pius XII declared her to be the Empress of all of the Americas.

This article originally appeared on Catholic San Francisco.

Deacon Ray Helgeson left his home in Paradise on the morning of Nov. 8 with his wife Donna for daily Mass at the close-knit Butte County town’s only Catholic church. They never arrived.

On the short drive to St. Thomas More Church, where the deacon assists at Mass and heads the parish’s adult faith formation program, the Helgesons saw billowing smoke and a nearby peak in flames. They continued warily in the direction of the church but were soon intercepted by emergency crews, who diverted them from what would become California’s most destructive wildland fire.

Stella Choi is from St. Jeong-Hae Elizabeth Korean Catholic Community in Sacramento. She is a teacher and involved in young adult ministry.

Being Catholic has really kept me grounded. It has helped to know who I am and why I am here.

I grew up in my parish and worked in youth ministry. I came back after my undergraduate studies at UC Davis and a master’s program at UCLA. I was asked to start a young adult ministry.

There’s a lot going on with young adults. Among them there is a need to appear OK or to appear that things are going well on the surface. We see that in social media. But when you get to know them, they open up and share. It’s also part of society today – to appear a certain way – and this puts a lot of stress, pressure and anxiety on young adults in general.