More than 3,000 parishioners, religious leaders and officials gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels Tuesday evening for an ecumenical prayer service commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.

The service was hosted by Roman Catholic Archbishop Jose Gomez. Armenian children took a lantern in a Procession of Light to the group of Armenian priests and pastors from several denominations who prayed with Archbishop Gomez.

“Today, we declare in unison that we remember and on Sunday people around the world remembered and spoke of the genocide of Armenians,” said Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He also recalled a story of 7-year-old orphaned girl who marched through the Syrian Desert.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was a keynote speaker at the ceremony.

“This space here in this city is a territory that is neutral where we can put down divisions and speak the truth that a genocide occurred, that 1.5 million souls were erased from this earth,” Garcetti said. “We have a responsibility to make sure that everyone on this earth recognizes that.”

“It is a genocide and in Los Angeles we accept that,” he said.