Archdiocese Ordains Auxiliary Bishop

In an ancient ceremony, the Most Rev. Alexander Salazar was ordained Thursday as an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Salazar, 54, most recently served as pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Los Angeles and as vice chancellor of the archdiocese. He was the second bishop to have been ordained in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Salazar will take charge of the archdiocese’s San Pedro pastoral region, answering to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony. He succeeds the Most Rev. Joseph M. Sartoris, who has retired.

In a centuries-old ordination liturgy replete with Latin chants, incense and prayers, Salazar lay prostrate before the marble altar as a choir sang the Litany of the Saints, an appeal to the saints to “pray for us.”

Then he rose, and Mahony and 26 bishops in turn laid their hands on Salazar’s head before he was anointed with oil and presented the symbols of his office as bishop: the Gospels, a ring, a miter and a crosier. As he took his seat with other vested bishops, he sat next to the Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis, who in February became the first auxiliary bishop to be ordained in the cathedral.

In his sermon, Mahony spoke of strife in the world, nation and the church.

“The reality of this moment in our church, in our community, in our nation and around the world is ... that there is much division,” Mahony said. “There is much conflict, tension, even hatred, at all levels all around.”

Mahony referred to the presidential election campaign, the war in Iraq, Israel and Palestine as well as shootings and drug dealing in Los Angeles and the scandal in the church over the sexual abuse of minors by priests, deacons and bishops.

“So, Bishop Alex, it is precisely those realities that our Lord Jesus Christ calls you to and sends you,” Mahony said. He said pastors must offer forgiveness and ask pardon for themselves.

“We are to be bishops who are to be unafraid to apologize and to ask for forgiveness,” Mahony said. He added, “But we are not filled with despair. We are not a hopeless people. We are people of faith.”

In remarks to an estimated 3,000 former parishioners, well-wishers, priests and family members who filled the cathedral, Salazar also appeared to refer to the sex-abuse scandal without naming it.

“While we may recognize that these past few years will be a defining moment in the history of our church, I am not prepared to acknowledge that these are the worst of times,” he told the congregation.

“A bishop is called to bring the light of the gospel to others and to fill the world with the hope of the risen Christ. I am prepared to say that these times are really the best of times -- for never have we been so aware of the need of the Lord and his presence in our lives,” Salazar said.

A native of Costa Rica, Salazar was named auxiliary bishop in September by Pope John Paul II. After studying at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, he was ordained a priest in 1984, and served parishes in Whittier, Pasadena and Los Angeles.