Cardinal Roger Mahony turned 75 on Sunday and, as church rules
dictate, he turned over the reins of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, a
flock of some 5 million that he has overseen for 25 years, to Archbishop
Jose Gomez.
Gomez and Mahony presided jointly over symbolic ceremonies of
transition of the day at downtown’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
during Masses celebrated in English and Spanish.
Gomez, 59, who was born in Mexico, became an American citizen while
serving the Roman Catholic Church in Texas as a priest for the
conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei, a group he says he no
longer associates with.
He arrived in Los Angeles from San Antonio in May.
Gomez is the first archbishop of Mexican descent to head a North
American archdiocese, though many of his flock have roots in Mexico and
other Spanish-speaking countries.
In the ceremony following Mahony’s final homily as archbishop, the
cardinal’s coat of arms was removed from above the archbishop’s chair,
and Gomez’s was installed in its place.
Mahony then escorted the new leader to the throne and gave him his
pastoral staff, the symbol of his role as chief shepherd of more than 5
million Catholics—of which about 70 percent are Hispanic—in the
archdiocese’s coverage area of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara
counties.
It ranks as the nation’s most populous.
Mahony rose to bishop in Stockton in 1980 and was named archbishop of
Los Angeles in 1985, becoming the first native Angeleno to hold the
office. He was elevated to cardinal by Pope John Paul II on June 28,
1991.
After the church’s seat—the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana—was damaged in
the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Mahony spearheaded the construction of
Our Lady of the Angels, which was dedicated on Sept. 2, 2002.
Gomez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and studied accounting there
before receiving a doctorate in theology at the University of Navarra in
Spain.
He was the priest in residence at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church
in San Antonio from 1987 to 1999. As the archbishop in San Antonio,
Gomez helped establish the Hispanic Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in
Mexico City, which opened in 2000.
In 2001 he was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of
Denver. He also organized Denver’s Centro San Juan Diego for Family and
Pastoral Care, a place for formation of lay leaders and a base to
provide welcoming services to immigrants.
Although he championed social justice and Latino immigrant rights,
Mahony’s legacy is tarnished by the sexual abuse scandal involving more
than 500 victims and a record $660 million settlement. He also was
accused of failing to report abusive priests to civil authorities and
keeping them employed in parishes without informing parishioners.
Mahony will remain a cardinal for life. As such, he is among about
200 cardinals who, as a body, act somewhat like a congress for the
Vatican, electing popes among other things.
When Gomez takes over he will become one of the most influential
voices in Catholicism in North America. He currently serves as chairman
of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, and
has spoken in favor of immigration reform.
In a recent interview, Gomez said he would be an agent of continuity,
not change.
He said his highest priorities are evangelizing new
Catholics and training additional priests.
He supports efforts to give
lay leaders a stronger role in the church.