Bienvenido, Archbishop-Designate José H. Gomez!

    SAN ANTONIO • Auxiliary Bishop José H. Gomez of the Archdiocese of Denver, has been appointed as archbishop-designate of the Archdiocese of San Antonio by Pope John Paul II. The announcement was made Dec. 29 in Washington, D.C. by Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
    Archbishop-Designate Gomez, 53, will become San Antonio’s fifth archbishop, succeeding Archbishop Flores, who has served since Oct. 13, 1979, and whose resignation was also accepted by the pope on Dec. 29.
    Before more than a dozen television camera crews and 200 assembled well-wishers, a joint press conference with Archbishop Flores and Archbishop-Designate Gomez was held at the chancery the morning of Dec. 29.

    Special guests in attendance at the event were Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Zurek, Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Flanagan and Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Bernard Popp.
    Also at the gathering were Bishop John Yanta of Amarillo and Bishop Charles Grahmann of Dallas. In addition to announcing the new head of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, the Vatican elevated the Diocese of Galveston-Houston to an archdiocese on Dec. 29. However, both the dioceses of Dallas and Amarillo will remain in the San Antonio Province.
    Following statements from Archbishop Flores and Archbishop-Designate Gomez, the duo took questions from the press.

    Asked about the significance of being the only Hispanic archbishop in the United States, Archbishop-Designate Gomez responded, “I’m humbled and honored by the appointment of the Holy Father to be the successor of Archbishop Flores, who’s been a wonderful archbishop in many ways to the Hispanic Catholic community in the United States. I know that this is a big responsibility and that’s why I need your prayers. I also know I can count on the support of my brother bishops, priests and deacons and the Hispanic community in the United States.”
    In addition, the archbishop-designate spoke about the historic richness of San Antonio and its importance to the church of the United States. “I really think the Archdiocese of San Antonio has a beautiful history and the combination of the different cultures in San Antonio is a beautiful example of how the church in this country is going to be in the future. I think that the relationship between the cultures in the Archdiocese of San Antonio is a model for the church in the United States. I think that history brings a lot of good, and the history of the Archdiocese of San Antonio is so rich since the beginning of evangelization in Texas and the United States, and that’s something that can really help all of us to know ourselves better and develop a model of how our society should be.”

    When asked what advice he had given to his successor, Archbishop Flores replied, “I told him that one of the most important things to do is to open your heart and love everybody. I have found that in loving everybody, everybody loves me. I really don’t feel like I have an enemy here in San Antonio. I really feel like I am at home. We are blessed with a great diversity of people. It’s not just Hispanics and Anglos, but many others, beautiful people. I love it when I go to an area that is predominately German-American, Polish-American, Czech-American, Italian. Simply be open and love everybody, and everybody will love you. There’s nothing better to love and being loved.”
    He continued, “I also said to learn to delegate to more people. We make a mistake when we think, ‘I can do it all. I’m the boss.’ We can’t do it all. I think that’s foolish to pretend that I can do it all. I can do a lot with the help of a lot of people. I get credit for a lot of great things. I’ve started them but someone else is doing it for me. We’re living in an age when we have to learn to work with everybody else. We look at the talents of others and let them use their talents.”
    Toward the end of the press conference, a reporter asked Archbishop-Designate Gomez what he saw for the future of the church. “Promotion of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Formation of vocations is very important,” he said simply. “It is important for lay people, and all of us in the church, to be consistent in the way that we believe and that we live. The practice of our faith is a very important thing for all of us. In that way we can make an extraordinary contribution to the life of this country.”
    Following the press conference the archbishop-designate met with department heads in the archbishop’s third floor office to discuss arrangements for the installation Mass.