Archbishop’s Golden Anniversary – Archbishop George Niederauer was ordained to the priesthood on April 30, 1962 for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was the only child of George and Elaine Niederauer, born on June 14, 1936. In his elementary school years, he attended St. Catherine’s Military Academy in Anaheim, finished High School at St. Anthony’s in Long Beach, attended freshman year at Stanford before entering St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. He holds a Bachelor in Sacred Theology from Catholic University, earned a Doctorate in English Literature from USC and an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from the University of Utah.
He has served as a parish priest, has taught English Literature at Mt. St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles and at St. John’s Seminary, taught Spiritual Theology at St. John’s Seminary, been a Spiritual Director there before becoming Rector of the same Seminary. While teaching in the Seminary in 1984, he was awarded by the Pope, the title Monsignor. He has also been Co-director of the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer for Priests in Los Angeles, before becoming the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City on January 25, 1995. Pope Benedict XVI named him the eighth Archbishop of San Francisco on December 15, 2005. Last year he turned 75 and following Canon Law, submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict. Rumor has it, that the Pope will accept his resignation this year and we will be having a new Archbishop.
The Archbishop has asked me to serve on the Priest Personnel Board (PPB) in October of 2010, which makes recommendations to him regarding priests’ assignments. In my short time there, I have been impressed by his kindness. He is what you would expect a Bishop to be. In personnel assignments, he is mindful of the needs of the priests. But having been ordained to serve, he places priorities in the needs of the parish. He cares that we find a good match between what the parish needs, and the abilities and talents of the priest. In some diocese, Priest assignments are made without regard to whether a priest likes it or not. But in this diocese, care is taken to ensure that both the priest and the community are a good match. The logic is if a priest is happy with his assignment, then both he and the community will benefit. The difficulty these days in serving on the PPB, is the shortage of priests. With more men retiring than are being ordained, trying to find the right match becomes more challenging. With a greater number of Spanish speaking Catholics in the area, finding priests who can speak Spanish and minister to their needs has also been a challenge. But the Archbishop does seek to find the right priest to serve the needs of a community.
The Archdiocese will have a special celebration in honor of his Golden Jubilee on Monday, April 30, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary Cathedral. You are all invited to attend and pray for God’s blessing upon this gentle and kind servant of God.
Ordination to the Priesthood – You are also invited to the Ordination to the Priesthood on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Three men, who have already been ordained as Transitional Deacons, will be ordained priests. They are Rev. Mr. Armando Gutierrez, Rev. Mr. Felix Lim and Rev. Mr. Jerome Murphy. It is a beautiful event with exquisite music. Save the date and come join us as we pray for them.
Peace,
Fr. Dan
