The following statements were issued September 7, 2004.

From Cardinal Roger Mahony:

It is with great joy that I welcomed the news that our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, had appointed the Reverend Monsignor Alexander Salazar to serve as an Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles.

Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, Bishop-elect Salazar was raised here within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and has a distinguished history of service to the Archdiocese both as a teacher in our Catholic Schools and as a priest. Since his ordination in 1984, Bishop-elect Salazar has served as an Associate Pastor in two parishes, served in many leadership roles on the Council of Priests over the years, served as Pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Parish, served on the Priests' Pension Board, served as Dean of Deanery 14, and presently, he serves as Vice-Chancellor of our Archdiocese.

Fully fluent in Spanish and English, 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.

Bishop-elect Salazar will serve as the Regional Bishop for the San Pedro Pastoral Region, a Region served in the past by the late Bishop Carl Fisher, SSJ and retired Bishop Joseph Sartoris. I am so grateful to Monsignor Bernard Leheny for his willingness to serve as the Vicar for the San Pedro Pastoral Region since the retirement of Bishop Sartoris. Monsignor 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.

It has been my personal privilege to know Bishop-elect Salazar well since my arrival in Los Angeles in 1985, and we have collaborated together on so many important Archdiocesan pastoral projects. He 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. I welcome him with a joyous heart and with open arms.

Bishop-elect Salazar will be ordained a Bishop on Thursday afternoon, November 4, 2004 at 2:00 PM in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. It is a most fitting day since we commemorate the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo on that date, and he was such a wonderful and pastoral Bishop of Milan, Italy.

I welcome Bishop-elect Alexander Salazar to the College of Bishops, to our own Episcopal Leadership here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and to the Episcopal Conference of our country.

May Mary, Our Lady of the Angels, watch over him and guide him in the coming years!

From Bishop-Elect Salazar:

Like so many throughout this great State, I love California. And so as you can imagine, I feel so very humbled to have received word that our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has named me to serve as Auxiliary Bishop for the Los Angeles Archdiocese here in California.

My first words, therefore and properly, 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.

I also would like to express my gratitude to our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, for his confidence in naming me as a Bishop, and to Cardinal Mahony for appointing me as the next Regional Bishop for the San Pedro Pastoral Region. Lastly I would like to thank my family and friends, my collaborators in ministry, especially my brother priests and the women and men religious, and all my co-workers in the various parishes throughout the Archdiocese, especially at my parish --- Saint Teresa of Avila in Los Angeles, and my co-workers at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center.

I particularly would like to acknowledge the entire Catholic Community of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles wishing upon all the gift of the peace of Christ, especially to those who for whatever reason have felt isolated or abandoned, those who are sick or troubled, those who have suffered as victim-survivors of abuse, those who even continue to suffer silently.

I am an immigrant to this land like so many who have come here to California. California is 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.

I wish to make a special pledge to people of all faiths, to all people of good will and to ask you to join me in praying and working for peace and justice, for tolerance and understanding, for building bridges and not walls, to join hands together in friendship and goodness.

I am deeply honored and humbled by this appointment. 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, a place of veritable angels in the flesh.

May God bless us all.

Please pray for me.