O.C. Diocese Ready to Make Vicar Soto Its 1st Latino Bishop

Jaime Soto, Orange County’s longtime vicar to the Latino community, was the calm in a whirlwind Tuesday, juggling his usual round of meetings and duties with a frenzy of last-minute preparations for today’s ceremony to install him as a bishop.

At St. Columban Church in Garden Grove, he rehearsed his steps for the 3 p.m. service, at which 1,500 dignitaries and parishioners are expected to watch the 44-year-old bishop-elect become the first Latino ordained a bishop in the Diocese of Orange. Tuesday evening, his bishop’s cross, ring and staff were blessed in a solemn ceremony witnessed by family members who had come from as far as Arizona and New Mexico.

But the beloved priest said Tuesday he was more than a little “nervous” about the impending installation, especially the part where diocese leader the Most Rev. Tod Brown and other bishops lay hands on his head to convey what he regards as an awesome responsibility to be a vessel of faith and spirituality for the county’s estimated 615,000 Roman Catholics.

“The imposition of hands is always a gesture of sending someone out on missions, that they’ll carry on with the same mission that Jesus gave the Apostles,” Soto said. “That is a sobering thought.”

His appointment as auxiliary bishop makes him second only to Brown in the diocese, and comes in recognition of more than a decade of tireless service to the Orange County Latino community, church officials said. It also signals the growing importance to the church of Latinos, who, diocese officials say, account for an estimated 480,000 of the county’s Roman Catholics.

“I hope that I can serve to nurture the kind of hopefulness that my ordination is stirring up in the hearts of many people,” said Soto, who will wear a white robe and stole when he is presented with the pectoral cross, ring and staff, or episcopal insignia, that signify his transition to bishop.

“I am humbled by the excitement of the people--not just the Latino community--but other members of the community who have also received me graciously.”

‘He’s One of Our Own’

Indeed, Soto has earned the respect of church elders throughout the Southland, as well as the trust of the local interfaith community and the street credibility of Latino parishioners who say they are galvanized and encouraged by the Stanton priest’s leadership.

“You can go to him when you need any kind of help,” said Martha Villalobos of San Juan Capistrano, whose sister, Juanita, was Soto’s secretary at the diocese for nine years. “We consider him part of our family.”

Soto was appointed vicar for the Latino community in 1989, in addition to an appointment from Brown to vicar for charities in March 1999.

“He’s one of our own,” diocese spokesman Msgr. Lawrence J. Baird said. “He was raised [here], so he’s very well-known among the priests.”

The Catholic church is struggling to keep up with the need for Spanish-speaking priests and fend off competition from evangelical churches that also serve Latinos. Soto, a longtime immigration activist, has been active in the Latino community for decades, helping rally for more Spanish-language Masses and increase the Latino youth outreach.

“We’re full of excitement and great expectation for this appointment,” said Amin David, president of Los Amigos of Orange County. “We have such a high regard for Bishop-elect Soto. It tickles us pink to think we’ve reached such a high mark in the life of the Catholic in Orange County.”

A short, compact man, Soto’s manner is both dignified and affectionate. He frequently reaches out to hug churchgoers during parish visits with his ever-present smile anchoring a well-groomed salt-and-pepper beard.

He loves to go to the beach and listen to jazz. In his small study and bedroom in the rectory of St. Boniface Church in Anaheim, Soto has a trusty cell phone and keeps up with technology, organizing his thoughts on an IBM Think Pad, his schedule on a Palm Pilot.

His younger brother, Oscar Soto, a business analyst at a Los Angeles produce company, said Jaime Soto has always been a warm and effervescent fellow.

“I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t like him,” said Oscar Soto, who kept busy Tuesday hosting far-flung members of the Soto clan who traveled to California for the ordination. “He has a very even demeanor.”

To prepare for his ordination, Soto pored over the letters of St. Paul and the acts of the Apostles. He also has spent time meditating in art museums, places that remind him of church, where he goes to recharge his soul. And he withdrew for a week of reflection and meditation at a Benedictine monastery.

“It was a time just to break open the Scriptures and let the Psalms and the Gospels speak their wisdom to my heart,” he said.

For leaders of the greater faith community in Orange County, Soto’s ordination is a welcome promotion for a man whose outreach goes far beyond the Latino community.

“He’s got charisma,” said Kay Lindahl, founder of the Alliance for Spiritual Community in Laguna Niguel, who admires Soto’s blend of Gospel with social activism. “He will be such an asset to the whole religious community.”

For members of the Catholic community, the diocese has promoted a most deserving priest who will be effective in reaching out not only to Latinos but to all Catholics in the county.

“He’s one of the most outstanding young men I’ve ever met,” said retired Bishop Norman F. McFarland, who has known Soto for 13 years. “He’s a fine priest, and an intelligent and articulate servant of the poor.”

A 1974 graduate of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Soto was ordained in 1982 after receiving his master’s of divinity at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, Calif. His first assignment was to St. Joseph Church in Santa Ana for two years.

He then spent two years at Columbia University in New York, where he received a master’s degree from the School of Social Work in 1986.

Soto returned to Orange County that year to become the associate director of Catholic Charities in Orange and the director of Immigration and Citizenship Services, an appointment he held for almost three years.

After 18 years of continuous service to the church, Soto said he has high hopes and goals for his new appointment and no regrets about his life path.

“I know that I am where I’m supposed to be, doing what God wants me to do,” Soto said. “It’s in this walk that God has laid out my happiness. I am doing what is really the deep desire of my heart.”

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Catholic Symbols of Service

Bishop-elect Jaime Soto, Orange County’s longtime vicar to the Latino community, will be ordained a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop today at St. Columban Church in Garden Grove.