Bishop William K. Weigand presided at a Mass and ceremony Dec. 4 in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament to begin the initial diocesan portion of the beatification process for the late Sacramento Auxiliary Bishop Alphonse Gallegos.

The Diocese of Sacramento is beginning the beatification process for Bishop Gallegos at the request of his religious order, the Augustinian Recollects. It is the first time the diocese has begun the process toward sainthood for any person.

Members of the religious order, Gallegos' family members and supporters were among those attending the Mass.

Born in Albuquerque in 1931, Bishop Gallegos grew up in Watts, attended Manual Arts High School (receiving confirmation from then-Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Manning), and entered the Augustinian Recollect community in 1950. He was ordained to the priesthood in May 1958, and celebrated his first Mass as a new priest at San Miguel Church in Watts.

He was a professor of psychology and theology at St. Augustine Seminary in Kansas City. In the 1970s he served as pastor of San Miguel and Cristo Rey parishes in Los Angeles, then moved to Sacramento where he served from 1979 to 1981 as the first director of the Division of Hispanic Affairs of the California Catholic Conference.

At age 50 he was ordained an auxiliary bishop to Bishop Francis A. Quinn on Nov. 4, 1981. While auxiliary bishop, he served as vicar general, vicar for the Hispanic Apostolate and vicar for ethnic communities in the diocese until his death in an automobile accident near Yuba City on Oct. 6, 1991.

Bishop Gallegos "cared especially about the poor, the marginalized, and unchurched youth. All these groups had a special place in his pastoral ministry," said Father James McGuire, a member of the Augustinian Recollect order and associate pastor of St. Benedict Church in Montebello.

Father McGuire taught Bishop Gallegos as a seminarian at the Tagaste Monastery in Suffern, N.Y., and while serving as provincial in 1972, appointed Bishop Gallegos as pastor of San Miguel Church.

Many people did not know that Bishop Gallegos was born with a severe myopic condition and was nearly sightless, Father McGuire said. Before he entered the seminary, he underwent eye surgery.

"He wanted desperately to be a priest," Father McGuire said. "When he was a novice master (in Kansas City, Kan.), I saw the way he interacted with people and how they enjoyed being with him. They felt they had a true friend. When I appointed him pastor (of San Miguel), I knew how he could help people through their troubles."

Father McGuire noted that Bishop Gallegos often spent his summer vacations living with Central Valley farm workers. "He was always concerned about migrants and other people who needed help and didn't have an advocacy group in their favor," he said.

The church's process leading to canonization involves three major steps. First is the declaration of a person's heroic virtues, after which the church gives him or her the title Venerable.

Second is beatification, after which he or she is called Blessed. The third step is canonization, or declaration of sainthood.

At various steps in the canonization process, evidence of alleged miracles is presented to church authorities. In general, two miracles need to be accepted by the church as having occurred through the intercession of the prospective saint.

During this initial process, a tribunal appointed by Bishop Weigand will examine all aspects of Bishop Gallegos' life. They will interview witnesses, research his work and review documents and testimonies about his life, virtues and sanctity.

If the tribunal's findings meet established criteria, the results will be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican for further study in order to determine whether or not to proceed with the cause for canonization, Father McGuire said.

The investigation could be terminated at any point in the process if Bishop Gallegos does not meet the criteria of "heroic virtue," he said.

"This is the start of a very long process --- this could take decades," Father McGuire said. "If the Lord doesn't step in and grant two miracles, the process won't go forward. The Lord will have the last word on this."