From The Angelus:
Pope Francis today appointed four local priests as new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The bishops-elect are: Msgr. Albert Bahhuth, 66, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in South Pasadena; Father Matthew Elshoff OFM, Cap., 67, pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in the Watts area of South Los Angeles; Father Brian Nunes, 58, the LA Archdiocese’s vicar general and moderator of the curia; and Father Slawomir Szkredka, 49, professor of biblical studies and coordinator of human formation at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo.
“This is a day of joy for the family of God in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez in a July 18 statement. “We give thanks to God, and we thank the Holy Father for this great blessing of new bishops. Each is a man of prayer who loves Jesus and has a deep desire to share God’s love and to serve God’s people. We are praying for them, and we entrust them to the tender care of Holy Mary our Blessed Mother.”
The appointments were announced Tuesday morning by the Holy See’s press bulletin and in a notice from Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The four bishops-elect were scheduled to be introduced at a press conference at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Since the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell last February, only one of the LA Archdiocese’s five pastoral regions, San Pedro, was being overseen by an auxiliary bishop, Marc Trudeau. The other four pastoral regions have been under the leadership of interim episcopal vicars.
