Statement on Pope Francis’ Appointment of Four New Auxiliary Bishops

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles
July 18, 2023

Good morning and greetings to all of you!

I want to welcome all of you this morning to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. A special welcome to those of you who are joining us through the internet and social media, and those of you watching on television and listening on the radio.

I am joined today by Bishop Marc Trudeau, Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, Msgr. Terrance Fleming, and Father Joseph Seraphin. Welcome, brothers.

Today is a day of joy for all of us, and I am happy that you can share our joy.

This morning in Rome, the Holy Father Pope Francis appointed four new auxiliary bishops for the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

So, we give thanks to God, and we thank the Holy Father today for this great gift. I also want to express my personal thanks to the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Cardinal-elect Christophe Pierre.

Allow me now to introduce our new bishops-elect:

Msgr. Albert Bahhuth is currently serving as pastor of Holy Family Church in Pasadena;

Father Matthew Elshoff is a Capuchin Franciscan and pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in Watts;

Father Brian Nunes is vicar general of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; and

Father Slawomir Szkredka, is associate professor of biblical studies at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo.

Welcome, my dear brothers! And congratulations! I know that your new ministries will be a great blessing to our people.

Our new bishops reflect the beautiful diversity of the Catholic community in Los Angeles.

As many of you know, we are a Church of immigrants, with faithful men and women and families who come from every continent and many nations; and we carry out our ministries and charities here in more than forty different languages.

And as I said, our new bishops reflect that diversity. Msgr. Bahhuth was born in Beirut, Lebanon, Father Elshoff in Cincinnati, Ohio; Father Nunes is from Los Angeles, and Father Szkredka is from Poland.

What these four priests have in common is their love for Jesus Christ and their love for their brothers and sisters. Each of them is a man of prayer who has a heart for the poor, and a deep desire to spread God’s love and to serve God’s people.  

In the Catholic Church, we believe that every bishop is ordained to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and to carry on the mission that Jesus gave to his twelve apostles.

The bishop’s mission is to lead people to Jesus and to help them to know God’s love and salvation, and to follow his beautiful plan for our lives.

That will be their mission now! So, especially we are praying for them and we entrust them to tender care of Holy Mary our Blessed Mother.

I will have the honor to ordain our bishops-elect here at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on September 26. And I hope you will all be able to join us!

So, again, this is a wonderful day for all of us, and especially for our bishops-elect and their families.

And again, I want to personally express my thanks today to the Holy Father and to his Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre.

Thank you for being with us this morning, and thank you for sharing our good news, and may God bless you and all of your families!

Thank you.