LOS ANGELES — More than 800 people drove the Orange County freeways before dawn under a pelting rain recently to say the Rosary, hear Mass and share fellowship.

They seem to be part of a trend.

Catholic prayer breakfasts, like this one, held at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel Nov. 30, are springing up across the country.

“We did it! We quit counting at 800. This is just an amazing gathering. We have created a community here,” said Rob Neal, co-chairman of the organizing committee for the Orange County Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

Before and after Mass, the hotel hallways were teeming with priests and laity from 46 parishes, 18 organizations and eight schools, and nuns from at least five orders. Orchestrated by the Magis Institute, an Irvine, Calif.-based association of Catholic business leaders and clergy, the prayer breakfast was inspired by the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

That event, at which President Bush has spoken for three years running, attracted more than 1,700 people from throughout the United States last April.

Magis Institute’s Executive Director Todd Inman has already helped launch three breakfasts in southern California and wants to get others started in other parts of the country.

This year, breakfasts will be held in Seattle, Wash., Portland, Ore., and Napa, Calif. After that, Magis hopes to add breakfasts in two or three new cities a year.

On a smaller scale, a group of men meet for weekly breakfast at a Perkins Restaurant in Sartell, Minn. The group began 4 1/2 years ago with four men, and now they have a pool of about 35, though an average of 20 men make it to any given breakfast.

They call themselves the Knights of the Breakfast Table and include physicians, architects, business owners, editors, musicians, farmers and counselors. Some of the men have taken to bringing their teenage sons as well.

They begin with spontaneous prayer, often including the daily Gospel reading. Over breakfast, they discuss the book they are reading. Lately it’s been Pope Benedict’s Jesus of Nazareth.

Many of the men admit they are not early risers, but wouldn’t miss the gathering.

They feel it provides fellowship and support they need in their faith, family and work life.

Controversy

In Orange County recently, the Rosary was accompanied by images of beautiful artwork flashed on screens.

The Mass was said partly in Latin. Irvine attorney Tim Busch, co-founder of the Magis Institute, said prayer breakfasts like this “express true and authentic Catholicism” and are a powerful, public way “to show solidarity. They’re a way for Catholics to stand up and be proved to be Catholics instead of hiding. I think these events will restore people’s faith.”

Archbishop John Myers of Newark, N.J., who gave the keynote address, said prayer breakfasts are also “an affirmation for bishops and priests” and a special way to evangelize. “A lot of people who don’t come to the Catholic Church see us here. Other people see the witness we’re giving,” the Archbishop said.

In short, the breakfasts aren’t just for Catholics.

Last April, Joseph Cella, who founded and presides over the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, said:

“I have people who come up to me who say they have been away from the Church, but this is a safe environment for them to come back and learn more. I get e-mails from people who have gone back to church on a regular basis. I’ve heard from people of different Christian denominations who have pulled me aside and told me how it has furthered their faith journey.”

Asked if he might start up a prayer breakfast in New Jersey, Archbishop Myers replied, “It went through my mind. I’ll have to talk to my staff.”

Lead celebrant of the Mass, Bishop Tod Brown of Orange, also gave the homily.

“This prayer breakfast is an opportunity for us to stand in solidarity as Roman Catholics,” Busch said. “We have been under attack by the media. In one week, we were falsely accused every single day on the front page of the Orange County Register.”

In an apparent heartfelt spirit of support and solidarity, the faithful gave Bishop Brown a standing ovation. And as the meal ended, more than 800 Catholics stood and sang a rousing rendition of “God Bless America.”

Carlos Orellana, a board member of the Catholic Business Journal, found the whole event wonderful.

“I was very impressed with the reverence at Mass,” he said, noting this was the first prayer breakfast he had ever attended.

He also found Archbishop Myers’ address on the importance of prayer as a pathway to forming a personal relationship with God “very inspiring.”

Carla Kallen from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., said, “The art on the screen was just beautiful and the choir was amazing.”

After the breakfast, a visibly pleased Bishop Brown said, “It’s a good way to rally the troops.”

Register staff contributed to this report.

Sue Ellin Browder is based in Willits, California.