Week of
January 31, 2001
Inside the Register
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Northern Colorado welcomes new auxiliary bishop
Bishop-elect José Gomez to assist Archbishop Charles Chaput in shepherding faithful
A surprise greeted seminarians at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary as they entered the chapel for Mass on the morning of Jan. 23.
At
4 a.m. Denver-time, the Holy See officially announced the appointment
of the Rev. José H. Gomez as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese
of Denver.
Celebrating the morning Mass for the seminarians was the first in a series of events that introduced the new bishop to the Church in northern Colorado.
"We had no idea that an auxiliary bishop had been named," said James Thermos, a seminarian at St. John Vianney. "It was a privilege to be introduced to him at Mass — we enjoyed meeting him and know that he will be a blessing to the local church," he added.
Before returning to his home in Houston last Friday, Bishop-elect Gomez was introduced to the press at a news conference; visited Our Lady of Guadalupe and Queen of Peace parishes; attended a welcoming ceremony at CENTRO L.U.P.E., the Office for Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Denver; met with deacons and priests serving in northern Colorado; and attended an American Jewish Committee Banquet honoring Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., among other events.
Archbishop Chaput introduced his new auxiliary bishop during a 10 a.m. news conference Jan. 23 in the Archbishop Vehr Library at the John Paul II
Center. A number of reporters from the Spanish-langage press were on hand to meet Bishop-elect Gomez, 49, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, who comes to Denver as executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Priests
and the vicar of the Opus Dei Prelature for Texas.
"We've been given a tremendously gifted man as a brother and a bishop," said Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. "In my own contact with him over the past year on a project for the American bishops, I've been tremendously impressed by his intelligence, energy, balance, warmth and humor."
Bishop-elect Gomez responded by saying he is ready to dedicate his life in service to the Church in northern Colorado.
"I am humbled and honored to be called to assist Archbishop Charles Chaput in his ministry, and I look forward to serving the people of Colorado with enthusiasm," said Bishop-elect Gomez. "For me, the new millennium is a moment of great optimism for the Church."
Bishop-elect Gomez is the first auxiliary bishop to be appointed in the Archdiocese of Denver since 1974, when Bishop Richard C. Hanifen was named by Pope Paul VI to assist Archbishop James Casey.
An ordination Mass for Bishop-elect Gomez has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday, March 26, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Colfax Avenue and Logan Street in Denver.