A play honoring the life of a beloved Sacramento bishop will open this weekend.

The performances Saturday will take place at the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community in Sacramento. Tickets for the 5 p.m. show of Burnt Tortillas were still available as of Friday evening.

The play tells the story and shares the legacy of Father Alphonse Gallegos. He served as Sacramento’s auxiliary bishop from 1981 to 1991. Gallegos was killed in 1991 after being hit by a car while he helped a stranded driver.

“Theater, theater arts, film, different mediums, but they’re so important for telling stories,” said Richard Falcon, the play’s director. “There are many within this new generation, immigrants and otherwise that come here that don’t know of his story.”

Father Eliseo Gonzalez, the vice postulator for the cause of canonization of Bishop Alphonse Gallegos, traveled to Sacramento for the performance.

“He was very close to the people, close to the community, finding ways to help them in their various needs,” Gonzalez said.

There are ongoing efforts to grant Gallegos sainthood.

“Hopefully those that see this play and know more about the bishop will be inspired by his love, his life of service to others and most of all his love and kindness towards other people,” he said.

Richard Alcala wrote the play in 1995, several years after Gallegos’ death. He said he worried people would begin to forget his impact.

“Everybody loved him,” Alcala said. “For us, we’re proud all the way around and just want to keep his legacy alive.”

Two performances of the play are scheduled for Saturday. Alcala said several family members of the late bishop were scheduled to attend one of the performances.

In the future, Alcala said they hope to translate and perform the play in Spanish and to bring the script to churches around California so others are able to experience the story, both in the audience and as performers.

Full story at KCRA.com.

For more information on the cause of Bishop Gallegos, including an EWTN documentary on his life, click here.