On January14, 2018, Holy Mass was held at Maria Regina Catholic Church in Gardena, California, to invoke blessings for the New Year and also to celebrate the Sainthood of St. Joseph Vaz who performed a remarkable service to catholics in Sri Lanka during his time.
The Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Damian Fernando in Sinhala. A prominent item here was the colorful procession that accompanied the priest to the alter.
The Mass was well attended by Sri Lankans in Southern California and after the mass, there was entertainment- a short play, "Senehasa Soyaa " and musical entertainment- and a feast of Sri Lankan food.