This year's Gala is especially meaningful as we celebrate our 70th Anniversary. We are honored to present our annual awards—the Ernst Ophuls Award and the St. Thérèse of Lisieux Award—to Deacon Al Austin and the Parish Community of St. John the Evangelist in Los Angeles, respectively, in recognition of their invaluable contributions to the advancement of our mission.

Deacon Al Austin is a beloved member of Holy Name of Mary Parish in San Dimas, CA, and was ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles 18 years ago. He shares his life with Rita, his wonderful wife of nearly 48 years. Together, they’ve raised four adult children and are now proud grandparents to ten grandchildren and one great-granddaughter—a beautiful legacy of love and family.


A convert to Catholicism, Deacon Al was baptized, received his First Communion, and was confirmed in March of 1961. After high school, he followed a calling and entered the seminary, where he studied for two years before discerning that God was leading him down a different path. Still, he treasures those formative years, which laid the spiritual foundation for the man he would become.

In February 1966, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served as a paratrooper with the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions. His time in the seminary proved especially valuable during this period, sustaining him through prayer, attending Mass whenever possible, and the practice of centering prayer.

Then, in 1971, Al answered another call—this time to serve as a Lay Mission-Helper in Papua New Guinea, where he spent four years in missionary work. That experience forever changed his worldview and showed him the richness of a life lived simply and in service to others.

After returning home, Deacon Al built a career in the steel mill industry, where he worked faithfully for 26 years before retiring ten years ago. He and Rita made their Cursillo weekends over 42 years ago at the Divine Word Retreat Center in Riverside, CA. Today, he continues to nurture the faith of others as the Spiritual Advisor for the English Cursillo Movement in the Diocese of San Bernardino.

His love for mission has never wavered. Every summer, Deacon Al travels to speak on behalf of Lay Mission-Helpers in dioceses across the country through the Missionary Cooperative Plan. He has served on the LMH Board of Directors for the past ten years, supports the organization financially, and has generously included LMH in his estate plans.

For the past 25 years, St. John the Evangelist Parish has been a welcoming home to our Formation Program—a place where we have been blessed by the warmth, hospitality, and unwavering support of the parish community.

We are grateful to lease the former convent as our Mission House, a space that providentially meets the needs of our Formation Program. It offers simple yet comfortable accommodations, a classroom, kitchen, dining room, and shared community space – and ever so important in Los Angeles parking! The setting is spacious enough to host large LMH classes and visiting faculty, yet intimate enough to foster a strong sense of community and shared purpose.

Throughout formation, our candidates actively participate in parish liturgies and are formally commissioned for mission during a Sunday Mass each December. We are honored that the parish pastor presides over this special commissioning ceremony, and we are deeply moved as the parish community wholeheartedly affirms and blesses our candidates as they commit to three years of missionary service.

The bond between LMH and St. John’s grew even stronger during the COVID pandemic, when we relocated our office to the Mission House in search of a more sustainable and economical space. This move not only kept our work rooted in mission but also deepened our ties to this generous and faith-filled community.

We are truly thankful for the enduring partnership and spiritual home that St. John the Evangelist Parish continues to provide.

Join us in honoring Deacon Al and the Community of St. John the Evangelist Church on Sunday, October 5, 2025!

Tickets will be available for purchase in August, but you can sponor the event already now!