Ceremony of the Crosses held in Oakland to commemorate 2023 homicide victims

OAKLAND, Calif. - The 14th annual Ceremony of the Crosses was held at St. Columba Catholic Church Sunday to commemorate the lives lost to homicide in Oakland this year.

Families and community members gathered together as crosses honoring homicide victims were removed from the garden and given to victims' families to take home. 

A cross with each victim's name is placed in the church's garden. As part of the ceremony, the names of each of the victims are read aloud as each cross is removed and brought to the foot of the church's altar.

"This year there are 123 crosses out in front," Richard Laufenberg tells KTVU. Laufenberg builds and paints each cross by hand, often reaching out to the victims' families.

Rev. Jayson Landeza started the Ceremony of the Crosses at St. Columba during his tenure as its pastor 14 years ago. He now serves as the chaplain for the Oakland Police Department. 

"Each cross is representing somebody's son, somebody's brother. That there was a name and a date attached so each and every one of these folks who passed away is seen as not just a number, but as a human," Landeza said. 

Organizers of the event say remembering that humanity is an important part of this work.

"You get so used to the process, I look at it every day and sometimes I don't even see it, and that's bad," said Rev. Aiden McAleenan, the pastor at St. Columba Catholic Church.

Though the number of crosses often stretches into the hundreds every December, Laufenberg repeats the words he has been using for years:

"One is too many," he said. 

Miles Spruill lost his mother Dilma in a January stabbing. She was a United States Postal Worker, and she was killed as she walked home from work. Spruill says through his grief, he holds on tight to the good memories they shared:

"Thanksgiving of last year, that was our last time dancing with each other...I'm always gonna cherish that last memory," he told KTVU. 

McAleenan hopes that the community is building towards a safer future.

"Ultimately, I want the garden to be a garden; wouldn't that just be beautiful if we could get to that space in Oakland?" he asked. 

Mayor Sheng Thao also attended the ceremony and participated in the reading of the names. Participants tell me that though the ceremony was a somber one, much hope for Oakland's future remains.