21 in County Will Meet John Paul Face to Face

They range from a nun to a former police chief who was convicted as an abortion protester. They also include a politician, an Orange County charity director, a parish janitor, a bishop’s housekeeper and an immigrant couple representing a growing community of Roman Catholic Vietnamese.

They are the chosen ones--the 21-member Orange County Catholic contingent who were picked to receive Communion today from the Pope.

Communion in Coliseum

Because John Paul II is not visiting the county, the 21 will make the one-hour pilgrimage to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The outdoor papal Mass is to begin at 5 p.m.

“I’m gonna wear my only suit I have,” Jose Luis Reynoso, 31, janitor at St. Boniface Parish in Anaheim, said with an excited chuckle Monday.

“If I receive Communion from lay people, I know I receive Jesus Christ, so the main part is Jesus himself,” said Reynoso, whose wife, Alicia, 30, was also chosen to attend the Mass. “But this is special. It’s from the Pope, and I’m proud to be Catholic. . . . I feel this will mean some changes in our life after this.”

Representing a cultural and economic cross-section of the county’s 52 parishes, the individuals were picked because “they are people of special lives of service and charity in the Catholic community,” Orange Diocese spokesman Thomas Fuentes said.

Fuentes said the Rev. John Urell, diocese chancellor, and the Rev. Michael Driscoll, the diocese vicar general, submitted most of the original communicant candidates because the two have been in Orange County for 10 years. Bishop Norman F. McFarland has been in the diocese less than a year.

The 21 individuals are a diverse group, but Fuentes said they share at least one thing in common: their devotion and contributions to church and community.

Edward and Dorothy Allen, both 79 and longtime members of St. Joseph’s Parish in Santa Ana, are among the county contingent.

Edward Allen, a retired Santa Ana police chief, spent two weeks in jail for his anti-abortion activities last year. He was arrested on trespassing charges during an anti-abortion rally at a clinic.

Fuentes said Allen was chosen for his devotion to the “pro-life movement” and called him “a very gentle poet” and “creative human being.”

“We’re just overawed,” said Dorothy Allen. “I’m like a child. I have my clothes all pressed and hung up and ready. I never dreamed I would have a chance like this.”

Like the Allens, the Reynosos were born into the Catholic faith. Their two children are Catholic and the one they expect in January will be, too. They sing in the church choir each Sunday and are dedicated volunteer workers. They were chosen to represent the county’s Hispanic Catholics, which Jose Reynoso calls “half the diocese.”

Meeting the Pope face to face is a lifelong dream for both of them, they said.

“We are going to be there early, at 3 o’clock sharp,” Jose Reynoso said. “I’m proud to be going, but I’m not a proud person. One friend, he wants me to take some rosaries for him to be blessed. And I’m taking some myself, too.”

Vincent Luan Duc Tran, 53, and his wife, Annie Bigh-Nga Tran, 46, of Huntington Beach were also born into the Catholic faith--in Vietnam.

Members of St. Bonaventure Parish in Huntington Beach, they have been instrumental in establishing programs for the growing number of Vietnamese Catholics (Fuentes said there are no exact figures). And though their English is a bit rough, there is no emotion lost in the translation.

“We are so happy and exciting to receive Holy Communion from our Holy Father, who has been our Pope and representative for Jesus Christ and so we (are) so happy,” Luan Tran said Monday.

“I think,” he added, “that this is historic for my life. . . . We prepare our spirit, our soul, for the Communion.”

Communion From the Pope

The Diocese of Orange says these county residents were chosen to receive communion today from the Pope:

Edward and Dorothy Allen, both 79-year-old Santa Ana residents and parishioners at St. Joseph’s Parish in that city, who have been active church volunteers, particularly in the anti-abortion movement.

Brother Livinius Bellew, 68, a member of the Brothers of St. Patrick in Midway City. He has been on the faculty of Mater Dei High School and will represent men in the county’s religious orders.

Angeline Closken, 73, a cook and housekeeper at Bishop Norman McFarland’s residence in Orange. She is a member of the Holy Family Cathedral Parish in that city.

Sister Marianna Gemmet, 48, who will represent the county’s 450 nuns. She is a Sister of St. Joseph of Orange and is the diocesan director of vocations recruitment for women.

Dan and AnnMarie Harney, 57 and 54, members of St. John the Baptist Parish in Costa Mesa. He is executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a charity involved with large-scale food distribution to the Orange County poor.

Alex Kim, a 26-year-old Huntington Beach resident and student at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, who will represent the county’s Korean Catholic community.

Peter and Mary Muth, 72 and 74, Santa Ana residents and members of St. Joseph Parish. He is a Knight of Malta, the highest honor bestowed upon Catholic laymen, and she has been a leader among Catholic women in the diocese since its founding in 1976.

Jose Luis and Alicia Reynoso, Fullerton residents who worship at St. Boniface Parish in Anaheim. He is the church janitor; she is a homemaker.

County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, 75, and his wife Emma Jane Riley, 71, Newport Beach residents and members of Our Lady Queen of the Angels Parish. Both are involved in Catholic charities. Next month he and she will be made Knight and Lady of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, an ancient religious order and honor in the church.

Maureen Robbins, 26, a member of St. John Neumann Parish in Irvine, who will represent single Catholics at the Mass. She is a founding member of the Catholic Family Support Group, which is involved in helping drug-addicted youths.

Vincent Luan Duc Tran and Annie Bigh-Nga Tran, 53 and 46, members of the St. Bonaventure Parish in Huntington Beach, who have both been instrumental in establishing the church’s outreach efforts in the Vietnamese Catholic community.

John K. Trotter Jr., 53, and his wife Katherine Trotter, 49, who are members of St. Cecilia’s Parish in Tustin. He is a retired appellate court judge involved with the Catholic Lawyers League, which supports various charities.

Frank and Helen Vohsing, 64 and 65, who are members of St. Hedwig’s Parish in Los Alamitos. Their son, William Vohsing, is a priest at Blessed Sacrament Church in Westminster.