SOUTHLAND MOURNS 'SPIRITUAL FATHER'.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders and Susan Abram Staff Writers

Thousands of Roman Catholics sought solace Saturday at churches around Southern California as they offered prayers and mourned the passing of their spiritual leader.

A standing-room-only crowd filled the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where a special evening Mass was offered on the first of nine official days of mourning for Pope John Paul II.

They began arriving at the cathedral shortly after hearing of his death, stopping to pray and light votive candles in a side chapel that held a large portrait of the pope and a huge spray of white flowers.

``For us, this is the only way we can pay our respects,'' said Brenda Mata, 25, of Los Angeles. ``As Catholics, as human beings, (we need) to venerate a great man, someone who really represented what the Catholic Church is supposed to be about.''

With Cardinal Roger Mahony in Rome to attend the funeral of the pope and help elect his successor, the Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, who talked about the pope's legacy in promoting the Catholic faith.

``Simply put, he was our father,'' Kostelnik said. ``The father of our faith and the spiritual father of our family, the Catholic Church. And he was the spiritual father to the world.''

At Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Newhall, a wedding party was gathering for a 1 p.m. ceremony as mourners who had just heard about the pope's death began to arrive.

``They don't know about it yet, but I'm sure they will later,'' whispered San Fernando resident Olga Sanders, who was a guest at the wedding, and had heard the news before she reached the church. ``We lost someone who was like a member of our family and the hardest part of his death is letting go. Nobody will forget him.''

Near the altar, Valencia resident Linda Ambrose and her son, Brendan, 13, knelt before a photograph of the pope and touched his face.

``I think there are those who are relieved in a way because he is no longer suffering, but it's still hard,'' Linda Ambrose said. ``We don't know if there will be another man who has led the Catholic community the way he did.''

At Our Blessed Kateri Catholic Church in Santa Clarita, the Rev. Michael Slattery said that services today would focus on John Paul's life.

``There's worldwide grief, but there's also celebration of his life, because he initiated so many movements in the church and because he was so pro-justice,'' Slattery said. ``He was pro-youth. He was multigenerational.

``Every now and then, you meet courageous people like him who light up the darkness,'' he said. ``I think people will be tuned into his life, rather than lamentations of his death.''

Lisa Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com