And the new bishop of Oakland is...

... Monsignor Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, formerly auxiliary bishop of San Diego. Here he is with Mark Brumley, Chief Executive Officer for Ignatius Press, and Eva Muntean, Marketing Manager for Ignatius Press, in a photograph taken this morning at the press conference introducing him as the new bishop of Oakland.

Some information from InsideBayArea.com:

Bishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, auxiliary bishop of San Diego, has been named as the new bishop of the Diocese of Oakland by Pope Benedict XVI.

Cordileone was introduced at a news conference Monday morning at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland.

When officially installed at noon May 5 at the cathedral, Cordileone, 52, will become the fourth bishop of Oakland, replacing Bishop Allen Vigneron, who was appointed archbishop of Detroit in January, church officials said.

"I am grateful to the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, as well as humbled and honored for the trust he has placed in me in naming me the fourth bishop of Oakland," Cordileone said in a statement. "I ask for your prayers especially at this time, that I prove myself to be worthy of this trust.

<snip>

Cordileone was born in San Diego. He entered the seminary there in 1975, received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of San Diego in 1978, and went on to study theology in Rome at the Pontifical North American College. He received a bachelor's degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1981.

He was ordained as a priest in 1982 and received a doctoral degree in canon law from Gregorian University in 1989. After returning to San Diego, he held various diocesan positions and from 1991 to 1995 served as pastor at a parish in Calexico.

He then returned to Rome, serving the next seven years as an assistant at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest judicial court. In 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him as auxiliary bishop in San Diego.

Cordileone is a member of the Catholic Bishops Conference task force in the United States on cultural diversity in the church.

Comments

[Jeff Grace]

Ok... I see three cats smiling but I don't see the canary... ;)

[Kevin C.]

The good bishop appears to keep good company.

[Ed Peters]

Too totally cool.

[Hugh Somerville-Knapman OSB]

He sounds an excellent man, and another sound choice. Hopefully he will ensure they will remove the Paschal candle (seen behind him in the picture) from now on during Lent!