In a memorandum to the Archdiocesan Leadership Team and the Auxiliary Bishops, Cardinal Roger Mahony announced that, after "wide consultation and careful consideration," he has selected theologian-author Dr. Michael Downey to write his biography.

The research will begin immediately and will culminate in the publication of the volume by a nationally-renowned publisher following the cardinal's anticipated retirement at age 75 in 2011.

Downey has served as the Cardinal's Theologian since January 1998, and is a professor of Systematic Theology and Spirituality at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo. The author or editor of more than 20 books, he was first layperson to receive the doctorate in sacred theology from The Catholic University of America, and is known internationally as a writer and speaker in the field of Christian spirituality.

Having considered various candidates for this task, Cardinal Mahony said he selected Downey because "no one has worked more closely with me over these past critical years of the Archdiocesan Synod, its preparation and implementation. He knows my pastoral mind and my ecclesial outlook."

Downey's first book was "A Blessed Weakness: The Spirit of Jean Vanier and l'Arche" (Harper and Row, 1986), a biography of Jean Vanier, founder of l'Arche, an international community centered on service of persons with developmental abilities.

"In writing about Vanier," said Downey, "I found that it is crucial to get the facts right. But it is far more important to capture the spirit of person in writing their biography."

In writing the biography of Cardinal Mahony, he noted, "I want to provide readers throughout the country, indeed in different parts of the world, with an accurate and reliable portrait of the boy, the man, the priest, the bishop, the archbishop and cardinal; the issues, the challenges and the difficulties he has faced; and how he has responded to them."

The research will entail consultation with family members and brother priests, bishops and cardinals, as well as a hefty measure of research in the Archdiocesan Archives.

"Above all," said Downey, "I want to articulate the spirit of the man, in much the same way that Jeremy Langford managed to express the spirit of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin through his work on 'The Gift of Peace.'"

Downey described Cardinal Mahony as "the most significant and influential moderate voice in the American Catholic hierarchy. So many people all across the country, and in different parts of the world, look to him as a paragon of the middle way and of moderation, an embodiment of the Common Ground so dear to the heart of his brother bishop and good friend Cardinal Bernardin."

"Like most people of deep and abiding prayer, Cardinal Mahony does not speak or write about his own experience of prayer, or his own spiritual life. The key to understanding both is his deep devotion to St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church and St. Joseph the Worker. The cardinal is a disciple of Jesus Christ, a man of the Church, indeed a 'Prince' of the Church Universal. But he is also a simple and humble man, a very uncomplicated but mature person. In any and every situation, the cardinal is the first one to roll up his sleeves and get down to work --- be it the work of endless tedious meetings, or caring for his priests and people, or helping set the dinner table and doing the dishes, or repairing leaky faucets. All the while, his eyes are constantly 'fixed on Jesus.'"

"At the heart of both prince and worker there is one spirituality --- the Spirit of Christ casting out fear and urging him on in total self-gift and service to his Lord."