IRVINE, Calif.—Standing before an audience of hundreds, Michael Franzese—a former New York mob boss—recalled a Forbes article from the 1980s that listed him as one of the 50 most wealthy mafia members in the United States.
He was number 18, and 35 years old, the youngest on the list, he said.
“Out of that list of 50, some 30 odd years later, 48 are dead, one is still in prison, and number 50 is here—for one reason and one reason only,” he said. “And that’s to give praise, honor, and glory to my Lord, and Savior, and my hero in life: Jesus Christ.”
Franzese was the keynote speaker at the 57th Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast held this year in Irvine at the Marriott Hotel Sept. 30.
The prayer breakfast has been an annual gathering in Orange County since 1964—modeled after the annual National Prayer Breakfast first held by President Dwight Eisenhower in Washington in 1953.
“The mission is to support and encourage our mayors through prayer,” Dana Haynes, chair of event organizer Orange Coast Christian Outreach, told The Epoch Times.
The event has grown from including only the Mayor of Newport Beach to mayors of all of coastal Orange County, according to Haynes.
After being introduced by John Moorlach—former state senator, county supervisor, and county treasurer—mayors shared on stage the importance of faith and of exercising faith in their cities.
Those who spoke included Farrah Khan of Irvine, Joe Muller of Dana Point, Kevin Muldoon of Newport Beach, Wendy Bucknum of Mission Viejo, Gene James of San Clemente, John Stephens of Costa Mesa, and Carol Moore of Laguna Woods, as well as Mayor Pro Tem Howard Hart of San Juan Capistrano and Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Rains of Laguna Niguel.
“We must regularly exercise our freedoms, including our first and most important right to worship the Lord our God in the way we see fit,” Muldoon told attendees. “If we speak His name, no one can defeat us.”
Several dozen students from the Vanguard University Choir also sang “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and “God Is So Good,” followed by local Pastors Larry Desimone of Calvary Chapel of the Canyons and Matt Doan of Calvary Church of Santa Ana reading passages of the Old and New Testaments.
“Isaiah 41:10 says this … ‘Do not be afraid for I am with you. Do not be discouraged for I am your God,’” Doan read.
In concluding the event, Franzese—who left mafia life, he said, after a renewal of his Christian faith in the 1990s and became a motivational speaker encouraging young people at prisons, schools, and churches that no one is beyond God’s redemption in this life—lead the audience in prayer.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved, so right now at your tables I want you to close your eyes and just repeat this prayer after me,” Franzese said.
“God, thank you for creating me and loving me. I’m tired of living my own way. I need help and I’m asking you to oversee my life.
“I’m sorry for all the ways that I messed up and sinned against you. Please forgive me. I believe that your son Jesus died on a cross for my sins, rose from the dead and has the power to forgive me for all I’ve done wrong. I surrender my life to you. And I want to go your way, not mine,” he prayed.
