On July 8, 2016, the Augustinian Recollect Alphonse Gallegos, Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento, California, was declared “Venerable” by Pope Francis. Today, on this anniversary, we are pleased to present Gallegos as a brave pastor who always sought harmony among young people belonging to different gangs. Several witnesses tell us about this.
Bishop Alphonse Gallegos sought to bring souls to God and was an instrument of peace and unity. He was a courageous pastor who took to the streets to meet with young gang members in Los Angeles and Sacramento. His priority was to be close to his people, especially the young people.
Leticia A. describes what Father Gallegos did when he was pastor of San Miguel in Watts, California: “He liked spending time with the young people, which was his main concern. He would go out into the streets at night and meet with gang members. He made a world of difference. The Watts community changed dramatically because of him. He brought the youth back to the church. He would walk the streets and talk to everyone. His job was to reach people. No one dared to walk around Watts the way he did. He was not afraid of anything, because he was a man of great faith who knew that God would protect him from all harm so that he could reach those who needed him.”
Tomasa G., from the parish of Cristo Rey, Los Angeles, where Gallegos was also a parish priest, comments on how he went in search of young people. “I saw him talking to young people to bring them to church. He went out looking for young people to get them out of gangs and away from sin. If they didn’t come to church, he would go to the street corner and talk to them. He did not care about the dangers while going out to meet the youth. He was exposed to all dangers.”
Elba B., who met Bishop Gallegos in Sacramento, California, says something similar: “His dedication to youth was impressive. Youth was his main concern. He told me about his interest in bringing Christ to young people. Once I asked him what he did with young people, and he told me: ‘I only talk to them, I listen to them, but in the end I always tell them: ‘See you in church on Sunday.’“
The respect that young people had for Gallegos was so great that on several occasions the Police Chief of Sacramento, California, had to call Bishop Gallegos at dawn to help the police stop fights between gang members. When Bishop Gallegos arrived, when there were those fights, when the gang members saw him, they immediately stopped fighting and all went home.
Gabriel R., a resident of Sacramento, California, witnessed the following story: One afternoon in Sacramento in the 1980s, two gangs were arguing and fighting in South Side Park, in front of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the house where Bishop Gallegos lived. Upon hearing the discussions and the revolt, Bishop Gallegos came out of his house to see what was happening. Seeing the young gang members fighting, he began to yell at them and hit the ground with a stick that he was carrying in his hand to get their attention. The youths were surprised to see Gallegos while they were fighting.
Bishop Gallegos yelled at them, annoyed: “What are you doing? How can you be killing each other? Don’t you know that before God we are all brothers? How can you harm one another being of the same race? This cannot go on like this!”
When the situation calmed down, Gallegos told them: “Tomorrow I want to see you all at Mass, in the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe”. The young people, who respected the bishop so much, were left with no choice but to obey the bishop and go to Mass the next day.
Mass time arrived, the church was full. Bishop Gallegos explained to the people present the reason for so many young people at Mass and told them what had happened the day before between the two gangs. In the homily he preached about love and forgiveness.
At the end of his homily he asked the leaders of the two gangs to come forward and stand in front of him and told them: “This will end here. You are going to forgive one another and give each other a hug.” That’s how it went. Those two gangs made peace and peace reigned.
Gallegos was a brave man who was not afraid of anyone or anything. He preached with words and with his life “love one another”, and was therefore, an instrument of love and peace. Many young people left their vices, the gangs, and returned to the church thanks to the closeness and friendship of Venerable Alphonse Gallegos.
