Dear Friends,

I am pleased to share with you some insights regarding the San Fernando Pastoral Region. There are nearly one million Catholics in this Pastoral Region of the Archdiocese, and they are served by 48 Latin rite parishes and 6 Eastern rite parishes. There are also four Korean Centers serving our Korean speaking Catholics.

The San Fernando Pastoral Region encompasses the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley and the Antelope Valley, an area of 2,325 square miles. It is also a growing area, particularly the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys where more than 60,000 new homes have been approved for construction over the next 15 years.

Currently our Pastoral Region includes 12 Catholic high schools, three Catholic hospitals, two Catholic cemeteries and three retreat centers. The first church in this Pastoral Region was the San Fernando Mission which was founded in 1797.

The Catholic people of this Pastoral Region are served by 230 priests, including those who are teaching in our schools or assigned to various special ministries. A number of our priests are retired but they generously continue in ministry as their health permits. Together with our dedicated women and men religious, very talented, knowledgeable and committed parish and school staff persons, and untold numbers of enthusiastic volunteers our parishes and schools are filled with life and energy.

We hope to share some of our stories with you in this and future issues of our Regional Edition of The Tidings. The priests and people of this Pastoral Region are its real treasure and the reason to be proud. As throughout the Archdiocese, our people come from almost every culture, language and background. They are proud of their faith and their Church, and they are determined to live out their discipleship in Jesus as fully as possible.

Our San Fernando Regional Pastoral Council has been a great help to me. I have benefited from their advice and counsel, and they have supported our priests and people by sponsoring workshops for parish Pastoral Councils and parish Finance Councils, as well as several workshops for parish Justice Committees. They have also researched ways to keep parents connected to their parish following infant baptism and presented their findings to our parish Pastoral Councils for follow up on the local level.

In addition, the members of our Regional Pastoral Council have assisted me in reviewing and setting priorities for our Pastoral Region each year. This year we have three priorities:

1) Evangelization, specifically the post-infant baptism programs and making available a variety of parish-based evangelization processes;

2) Vocations, particularly to the priesthood and consecrated life;

3) Supporting and strengthening our Catholic schools.

I look forward to the The Tidings' emphasis on the Pastoral Regions of the Archdiocese because I know that we have much not only to share with each other but also to learn from each other.

Sincerely yours,
Most Reverend Gerald E. Wilkerson
Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles
San Fernando Pastoral Region