Father Richard Estrada, defender of the downtrodden, dead at 83

Father Richard Estrada, a starring fig successful the migrant rights question who was known for opening Los Angeles’ archetypal structure for stateless migrant younker and dedicating his beingness to advocating for the downtrodden, died Monday astatine the property of 83.

Estrada was hospitalized successful March for pneumonia aft contracting COVID-19, and helium died from COVID-related complications, according to Angie Jimenez, a household friend.

Estrada, the lad of Mexican immigrants, was calved successful Los Angeles connected March 1, 1942. His begetter worked arsenic a welder and his parent cleaned bureau buildings. He devoted his big years to championing the causes of radical helium believed were treated arsenic second-class citizens, including immigrants, farmworkers, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Estrada was a tireless advocator for migrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally to fly unit and poverty, find enactment and supply for their families. Over 30 years of activism, helium helped present thousands of gallons of h2o to migrants traversing the godforsaken on the border, offered his religion arsenic sanctuary for radical threatened with deportation, and mortgaged his location to rise wealth for Jovenes Inc., the nonprofit migrant younker enactment helium founded.

From 1977 to 2014, Estrada served arsenic an subordinate pastor astatine Our Lady Queen of Angels, a Catholic religion known arsenic La Placita, earlier leaving to articulation the Episcopal Church, saying helium felt its tenets amended aligned with his values.

“Father Richard Estrada was a visionary,” Andrea Marchetti, enforcement manager of Jovenes, said. “His consciousness of humanity and his unconditional committedness and emotion for the astir susceptible were the guiding principles for each the actions helium led, nary substance the challenges helium faced successful his aboriginal years.”

Jovenes Inc. began organically arsenic Estrada, successful the precocious 1980s, started seeing young migrants showing up astatine his religion connected Olvera Street without parents oregon support. He opened his location successful East Los Angeles to galore of them earlier founding Jovenes successful 1989. With Estrada’s support, the cognition has flourished and expanded implicit the years into a vibrant Boyle Heights field offering a continuum of services spanning housing, healthcare, acquisition and vocation improvement for 700 young people, ages 18 to 24.

In a 2015 profile, helium told The Times that helium was guided by the conception of la posada — meaning inn oregon lodging. “I’m into giving shelter,” helium told newsman Kate Linthicum.

At La Placita, helium opened the church’s doors to structure migrant younker during a clip of tense sermon astir immigration, and national officials accused him of promoting amerciable behavior. He handcuffed himself to a national gathering to bring attraction to the plight of immigrants successful detention, the archetypal of astir a twelve times helium would beryllium arrested for civilian disobedience, Jimenez said. His past apprehension happened successful 2023, astatine property 81, arsenic helium marched for workers’ rights.

He besides opened his La Placita religion to play HIV testing, moving with Richard Zaldivar, laminitis of The Wall Las Memorias Project, astatine a clip erstwhile the Catholic Church was not welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community. Zaldivar remembers asking Estrada if helium was disquieted astir getting successful trouble.

“He was similar a shooting star; helium didn’t springiness a damn,” Zaldivar recalled. “He inspired truthful galore radical to judge that you could alteration the assemblage and alteration systems by raising your dependable and organizing. He besides inspired radical to judge successful their religion — religion successful God, but besides the religion successful yourself that you tin make a amended community.”

In the 1970s, Estrada organized for farmworker rights alongside Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, participating successful marches for the United Farm Workers and organizing grape boycotts successful East Los Angeles. He was a cardinal fig successful the Chicano movement, lending his stature arsenic a spiritual person to advocator for underserved communities.

When helium advocated to unfastened the archetypal structure for undocumented youth, hundreds of radical showed up successful opposition, recalled authorities Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, who represents cardinal and East L.A. “He remained calm, knowing their fears, but reminding everyone astir our humanity.”

Actor Edward James Olmos said helium got to cognize Estrada done their shared interests successful migrant rights and speaking to incarcerated youth. Over the years, Estrada leaned connected Olmos to enactment assorted causes, and Olmos often answered that call. “OK, Father, we’re connected our way,” helium would archer Estrada.

Olmos said helium remembers Estrada voicing frustrations arsenic it grew wide that ranking members of the Catholic Church had covered up intersexual maltreatment of children, an occurrence that contributed to his determination to permission the instauration — and different illustration of his condemnation to talk his mind.

“He was 1 of the top quality beings that I’ve tally crossed successful my lifetime,” Olmos said.

As a curate astatine the Church of the Epiphany, an Episcopal religion successful Lincoln Heights, Estrada baptized Jimenez erstwhile she was a child, and aboriginal baptized her 2 daughters. He was contiguous done hard moments, she said, including her sister’s death, offering comfortableness and guidance.

“It was astir similar you were adjacent to a saint. When you were astir him it was 1 of the astir comforting feelings,” she said.

Estrada remained an progressive beingness astatine Jovenes arsenic committee president until aboriginal this year. Just aft his day connected March 1, helium fell sick and was diagnosed with COVID-19 and pneumonia, Jimenez said. He died connected Cesar Chavez Day.