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Archbishop

(CNS photo/Greg Tarczynski)

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco and named Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland to succeed him. Archbishop Cordileone is pictured in a 2009 photo.

July 27th, 2012
By Catholic San Francisco

WASHINGTON -- Pope Benedict XVI has named Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, California, 56, ninth archbishop of San Francisco, and accepted the resignation of Archbishop George H. Niederauer, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The appointment and resignation were publicized in Washington, July 27, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Archbishop-designate Cordileone's installation Mass will be held at St. Mary's Cathedral Oct. 4, the feast of the city's patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, Archbishop Niederauer announced.

 

Salvatore Joseph Cordileone was born June 5, 1956, in San Diego. He studied at St. Francis Seminary, San Diego, and North American College and Gregorian University, Rome. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of San Diego on July 9, 1982 and pursued doctoral studies in canon law in Rome from 1985-1989. From 1985-1991, he served as an official of the Tribunal of the Diocese of San Diego. From 1989-1991, he served a secretary to the diocesan bishop, and from 1991-1995, he served as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Calexico, California.

From 1995-2002, he served as an official of the Supreme Tribunal of the Signatura, Rome, the Church’s highest juridical body under the pope. In 1999, he was named a monsignor.

On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him auxiliary bishop of San Diego. He was ordained a bishop on Aug. 21 of that year. On March 23, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of Oakland. Archbishop-designate Cordileone is currently chairman of the Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a post he has held since January 2011.

 

Archbishop-designate Cordileone's service as bishop of Oakland "has given him a deep understanding of the radically diverse cultural composition of the Bay Area and a dedication to multicultural ministry. His studies and work in Rome gave him a global perspective on the church throughout the world," Archbishop Niederauer said.

 

 

The archbishop-designate "has many ties to the Church in San Francisco; indeed, his father was born here. In recent years, as we have served as brother bishops in the Bay Area and the Province of San Francisco, I have come to know him as an energetic, hard-working, prayerful and faith-filled shepherd to his people," Archbishop Niederauer said.

George Hugh Niederauer was born June 14, 1936, in Los Angeles. He studied at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, and The Catholic University of America in Washington. He earned advanced degrees in English literature from Loyola University of Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on April 30, 1962, and ordained bishop of Salt Lake City on Jan. 25, 1995. On Dec. 15, 2005, he was appointed archbishop of San Francisco.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco has 1,761,000 persons, with 432,163, or 25 percent, of them Catholic.

 

 

 

 

 

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