Pope John Paul II has appointed a native of Latin America --- and a product of Los Angeles Catholic schools --- as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The announcement of Msgr. Alexander Salazar --- most recently a pastor and administrator in the archdiocese --- as Los Angeles' new auxiliary bishop was made "with great joy" by Cardinal Roger Mahony at a Sept. 7 press conference.

"Bishop-elect Salazar is a dedicated and wonderful priest, a priest committed to serving all peoples, and he will be a splendid shepherd of the people of Los Angeles," the cardinal said at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. "I welcome him with a joyous heart and with open arms."

Having served as pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Church in Silverlake (northwest of downtown Los Angeles) since 1994 and vice chancellor of the archdiocese since January 2003, the Costa Rica-born bishop-elect will serve as auxiliary bishop of the San Pedro Pastoral Region, a position vacant since the retirement of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Sartoris at the end of 2002. Msgr. Bernard Leheny, pastor of St. Linus Church in Norwalk, has served as the region's episcopal vicar in the interim period.

"I am so grateful to Msgr. Leheny for his willingness to serve as the Vicar for the San Pedro Pastoral Region," Cardinal Mahony said. " Msgr. Leheny has not only maintained his role as pastor of St. John of God Parish in Norwalk, but he has attended to the many pastoral needs of the 67 parishes in that Region. His service has been extraordinary."

Bishop-elect Salazar will be ordained to the episcopacy on Nov. 4, 2 p.m. in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo. He will be third man to serve as San Pedro Regional bishop; the others were the late Bishop Carl Fisher (1987-93) and Bishop Sartoris (1994-2002).

He is also the third native of Latin America to become a bishop in Los Angeles. The others were California's first bishop, Francisco Garcia Diego (born in Mexico); retired Auxiliary Bishop Juan Arzube (born in Ecuador); and current Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala (born in Mexico).

The 54-year-old bishop-elect said he views his mission as Bishop as a continuation of his personal vocation of "teaching the Gospel of Christ," while a grammar-school teacher at St. Albert the Great in Compton.

"A Bishop brings first and foremost a sign of hope to his people," said Bishop-elect Salazar. "[We need] a great sense of hope and healing and unity so that we can overcome the challenges and struggles of the past, especially with sexual abuse among the clergy."

The appointment of the new auxiliary bishop was welcomed enthusiastically by his seminary classmates and others with whom he has worked.

"I'm ecstatic," declared Msgr. Paul Albee, administrator at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Canoga Park. "Alex is a wonderful priest with an excellent pastoral sense, who treats people with such respect and care, just as Jesus would. And his heart is really in being a pastor; that is his true call and vocation, and now he'll be a pastor for the whole San Pedro Region."

Friend and seminary classmate Msgr. Gabriel Gonzales recalled a story that Bishop-elect Salazar told him about his decision to join the priesthood.

"He told me that root of his vocation is when his pastor asked him to be a Eucharist minister when he was teaching at St. Albert the Great," said Msgr. Gonzales, assistant Vicar for Clergy. "Before this he had only thought about it. This shows that people are actually called to ministry and shows you have to respond when Gods calls. What if he had said 'Ah, no thanks' when asked by his minister?"

Father John Majarucon, pastor of Santa Clara Church in Oxnard, said his 1984 classmate "brings not only a great wealth of experience, both educational and administrative, but he also brings a very compassionate presence to his ministry. He also has a great grasp of theology and dogma, and has a great rapport with other priests of the archdiocese."

Moreover, he added, "Alex is very sensitive to different cultures, which will be a great blessing in the San Pedro region; he knows how to talk to people. Having worked with teachers, students and parents as an educator, he has a great diplomatic skill, and is very good at diffusing potentially explosive situations."

The people at St. Teresa of Avila Church will be "both happy and sad" that their pastor of 10 years has become an auxiliary bishop, said parish secretary Maricarmen Juarez. "He is so kind," she said. "He gives his time to everyone, and everyone likes to talk with him because he listens so well.

"It was hard when he started working at the chancery because his time here became more limited, and now we're losing him to a new assignment. But the people of the San Pedro Region will be receiving a very gifted bishop."

Cardinal Mahony made note of those gifts in introducing Bishop-elect Salazar at the press conference.

"Fully fluent in Spanish and English," he said, "he has always had a deep love for all peoples here in our archdiocese, but especially, those more recently arrived, those who struggle daily to raise their families, those who are voiceless and powerless, and those who can benefit from the church's outreach ministries."

Cardinal Mahony expressed gratitude that Bishop-elect Salazar has the qualities needed to not only lead his region but to help address the challenges of fast growth and diversity the church faces in coming years.

"No one can do anything in the church by himself, especially today," the cardinal said. "His ability to bring people together and create a sense of unity and harmony in building up God's kingdom here [is important]."

Bishop-elect Salazar accepted his appointment with humility and appreciation to those with whom he has worked and served in his years as a teacher and priest.

"My first words," he said, "have to be an expression of gratitude --- gratitude first of all to Almighty God, from whom all blessings flow, who has showered my life with such wonderful gifts, especially with the gift of faith and with the gift of hope."

Citing his own immigrant background, the bishop-elect called California "the land of dreams and visions. But I have been blessed with more. I have been specially privileged to serve as a priest --- a parish priest, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to build up the citizenry here in Southern California, and to work for the common good."

He promised to work "for peace and justice, for tolerance and understanding, for building bridges and not walls, to join hands together in friendship and goodness. I look forward to working together to continue to make Southern California a place of opportunity and graciousness, where men and women share their blessings out of goodness and thoughtfulness ever conscious of the many blessings that come from God alone."

For the complete texts of Cardinal Mahony's and Bishop-elect Salazar's statements, see www.the-tidings.com.