Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan will be honored today as Angelenos gather for a memorial Mass to celebrate the life of a man remembered for the way he led the city following the 1992 L.A. riots and during the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Riordan died April 19 at age 92. Soon after news broke of his passing, political, civic and religious leaders throughout L.A. were quick to praise Riordan for his lasting contributions to the city.
Today’s Mass will be at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown L.A. Riordan had played a key role in getting the facility built after another cathedral suffered severe damage during the Northridge earthquake.
The program will begin at 1:30 p.m. with remarks by current L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, one of Riordan’s daughters, and other dignitaries. Archbishop José H. Gomez will preside over the 2 p.m. Mass. The homily will be delivered by Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson, pastor at Riordan’s former parish, St. Monica Catholic Church.
The Mass will be livestreamed at olacathedral.org/RichardRiordan.
The service is open to the public, though seating is limited. Information about how to get to the cathedral, street closures and security checks can also be found on that website.
Born May 1, 1930, Riordan grew up in New York but eventually moved to Southern California, where he founded the law firm Riordan & McKinzie.
Law wasn’t his only pursuit, however.
Riordan was also a businessman who entered politics late in life. When elected in 1993 to serve as mayor, Riordan became the first Republican to hold that title in more than three decades.
Known as socially progressive but fiscally conservative, Riordan spurned the six-figure salary assigned to the mayor and instead accepted the job for just $1 a year.
Riordan led as mayor through the lens of a businessman, valuing results over bureaucratic red-tape. Often, he would encourage his staffers to do whatever they had to do to get the job done and to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
As the city’s top leader, Riordan inherited a fractured city when he became mayor a year after the infamous L.A. riots that followed the acquittal of four White officers caught on camera beating Rodney King, a Black motorist stopped by police.
In addition to trying to help Angelenos heal after the riots, Riordan was confronted with another challenge about six months after taking office: helping L.A. rebuild after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
During his eight years as mayor, Riordan also successfully helped championed against a campaign for the San Fernando Valley to secede from the rest of L.A.
Those who knew him say Riordan was also an avid reader who helped rebuild the city’s library system and that he loved children and gave generously to support the city’s youth.
Riordan died at his Brentwood home last week surrounded by his wife, Elizabeth, other family members, friends and his “precious pet dogs,” according to his family.
Source: Orange County Register
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