December 21 – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year – marks National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.
During an interfaith service that Saturday at Christ Cathedral, spiritual leaders from across Los Angeles and Orange County joined Bishop Vann and Fr. Christopher Smith to offer words of reflection.
Attendees carried candles in a procession and placed them on a table as each of the 207 names of those without a home who in 2019 lost their lives on the streets of Orange County.
Among the attendees was Brian Brackney, a homeless man who attends the service each year to listen as the names are read aloud.
The annual event is organized by the Diocese of Orange’s Office of Life, Justice, and Peace; the Sisters of St. Joseph and several advocacy organizations.
To the right are the names of the individuals remembered at the service.
Cheryl ADAMS • Rodolfo AGREDANO • Carlos AGUILAR • Jose AGUIRRE • Randolph AGUIRRE • Robert AIELLO • Marcos ALARCON • Michael ALMASY • Lucas ALPIZAR • Donald AMES II • Infant Female ANDERSON • Neparteria BAILEY • Allyson BARBER • Jose BARRIENTOS • Josephine BECERRA • Hamid BEHRAZFAR • Pilar BELTRAN-KNIGHTS • Susan BERGER • Michael BERGLER • Julian BERNAL • Joseph BERON • Leon BICKETT • Philip BLUM • Darryl BOSSIER • Jason BOWEN • Andrew BRAFF • Paul BRAZER • Thomas BRYANT • Landon BUCHANAN • Cho BUI • Liberato CABALLERO • Michelle CAMARILLO • Mark CAMPETT • Jose CARRERA BARBOSA • Walter CARTER • Fernando CERVANTES • Andres CHAN • Theresa CHERRY • Kosol CHIM • Laura CITORES • Tyron COETZEE • Todd COLEMAN • Mitchell COPELAND • John CRASS • Leonardo CUELLAR • Infant female CUEVAS • Michael CZAPLINSKI • Vicente DE LEON • Terri DELAO • Mayra DELFIN CARRETO • Robert DEYA • Sherry DIMICHELE • Randall DODD • Catherine DODSON • Jose DOMINGUEZ MARTINEZ • Shelley DUPRAY • Virgil DWYER • Nichole EASTIN • Reanna EBANY • Victor ESTRADA • Ricardo EUGENIO • Gonzalo EVARISTO TOMAS • David FERRY • Elliot FISHMAN • Jessica FLEMING • Carlos FLORES • Kevin FOOKES • Jay FOUTS • Angel GALINDO • James GALLIAN • Garrett GALLOWAY • Michael GARCIA • Pamela GARCIA • Leonel GARCIA DIAZ • Linda GARNER • David GIBSON • William GLOVER • Fernando GONZALES • Jade GREBE • Jose GUERRERO • Abel GUEVARA • Mary HARDY • David HARRIS • Benjamin HEIN • Andrew HENDERSON • Patrick HILL • Todd HODGES • Brad INFANGER • Ayrton JASSO PERES • Katlyn JENICAN • Denise JENSVOLD • Kimberly JOHNSON • Martin KATZMANN • Sailor KELLY • Elden KIRIFI • Kraig KISSINGER • Steven KNEISLEY • David KRAUSZ • Jennifer KUHNS • Leonard LAUVAO • Larry LEWIS • Donald LOFTON • David LONGO • Duane LOPEZ • Joel LOPEZ • Jay LUCAS • Frederick LUCERO • Raymond MACDONALD • Timothy MANNING • Johnny MARION • Leticia MARQUEZ • Richard MARRONE • Alonso MARROQUIN • Steven MARTIN • Ronald MARTIN • Alejandro MARTINEZ • Francisco MARTINEZ AGUILAR • Armando MARTINEZ, II • Israel MATADAMAS VASQUEZ • George MAXWELL • Pedro MEDERO • German MENDEZGARCIA • Ernest MEZA, JR • Glenn MOBERLY • Mark MOEN • William MONTAGUE • Rafael MORALES • Julio MORALES • Vicki MORRISON • Kristin MOSHER • Jason MUDRINICH • Petru MUNTEAN • Carolyn MUSTAIN • David NELSON • Dustin NORDVALL • James OKEEFE • Edward OLAGUE III • Raymond OLIVER • Roberto OMANA • Catrina PADILLA • Oscar PARRA • Ernest PARRA JR. • Kyle PARRISH • Lisa PECK • Raymond PENDERGAST • Anthony PHILLIPS • Peggy PRESTON • Stacey RAAB • Jesse RAMIREZ • Jose RANGEL • Mary RELIGA • Steven RENOIR • Anita RHOADES • Michael RIGGS • Douglas ROBBIO • Dorothy ROGERS • Isidro ROJAS JR • Dimas ROMERO • Tommy SALAZAR • Kortney SANDERSON • Mario SANTIVANEZ • Christine SAVAGE • Brent SCHNEIDER • Steven SCHOFER • Vanessa SEAGRAVES • Michael SEBREROS SANCHEZ • Gary SEEDS • Joseph SHERWIN • Edward SLANK III • David SORENSON • Michael SPEAK • Scott SPENCER • David STACK • Leslie STUART • Brian SWAN • Julian TAFOLLA • James TALBOT • Nicholas TAMULINAS • Frankie TELLEZ • Octavio TEOSILO • Scott TERNER • John THIBEAULT • Richard THOMPSON • Taylor THOMPSON • Josephine TORRES • Pascual TORRES • Kevin TRAN • Hoang TRAN • Michael TURNER • David TUY • Sean VALADEZ • Sandra VANZANT • Leonardo VEGA • Izabel VELASQUEZ • Jose VELAZQUEZ • Felipe VERDUGO • Loren VINCENT • Sean VITTORIO • William WALLS • William WELLS • David WHELPLEY • Gregory WHITTINGHAM • Christopher WILD • Derek WILSON • Jeffrey WYNGAARD • Michael YARBROUGH