An Ethnic First: Soto Now O.C.’s Auxiliary Bishop

Jaime Soto, for more than a decade a tireless advocate for the county’s Latinos, was ordained Wednesday as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Orange, the first Latino to attain that position here and, at 44, the youngest bishop serving in the United States today.

The solemn two-hour service drew more than 1,500 parishioners and dignitaries, including Catholic and Latino leaders, to St. Columban Church in Garden Grove. The crowd spilled out of the sanctuary into the garden, which was decorated with brightly colored paper streamers and pinatas, and filled with tables of taquitos, flautas and chimichangas.

Dressed in a white robe and stole, Soto, a native of Stanton, received his bishop’s ring, staff and pectoral cross from the Most Rev. Tod D. Brown, bishop of the diocese.

“Of course, Bishop Soto will continue to serve the Latino community, but he will be a wonderful bishop for the whole church of Orange and all the people here,” Brown said. “I’m ecstatic. It’s a great day for all of us.”

As Soto greeted his colleagues in the crowded rectory before the service, he admitted to being a little nervous, “but I’m relying on God’s grace. I am aware of how fortunate I am to be in this diocese and how deep the faith is here, the willingness and eagerness to work together. I hope that enthusiasm continues.”

Soto’s promotion signals the growing emphasis by the Catholic church on the burgeoning Latino population here and across the United States. Of Orange County’s 1 million Catholics, about 480,000 are Latino, according to diocesan officials.

Long beloved by local Latinos, Soto also has earned the respect and admiration of local and national church leaders for his work under the title of vicar for the Hispanic community in Orange County since 1989.

“Jaime is a bishop for the new millennium,” said Ronaldo Cruz, executive director of the Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C.

“The Latino population is growing immensely, and the church has to respond to it,” he said. Soto “is a great collaborator with other cultural groups. He also knows what’s going on in the community.”

Though Latinos account for a significant percentage of Catholics--as much as 40% nationwide--they have remained largely segregated in many areas, and there is still discrimination within the church hierarchy, according to a study released earlier this year by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Nationwide, there is one priest for every 1,230 Catholics, according to the study, but only one Latino priest for every 9,925 Latino Catholics.

Among the 400 members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Soto takes his place among 24 Latino bishops now serving. The nation’s first Latino bishop, Patrick Flores, was ordained in 1970 in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

“Orange County is very lucky to have Bishop Soto,” said Father Virgilio Elizondo, founder of the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio. “His influence will not be limited to California. . . . Latinos do want to see their own in leadership positions, which they have never seen.”

Elizondo said Soto “is home-grown from the Latino California soil. He knows in his own flesh and blood the struggle of the Latino people.”

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said he is delighted by Soto’s ordination and hopes it signals more such church leadership in increasingly multicultural Southern California.

“I look forward to working with him on some of the issues that transcend county lines,” said Mahony, who has known Soto for 15 years and worked beside him in serving immigrants. “It’s a great day for the church.”

Soto has also been active with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and was instrumental in organizing Encuentro 2000, a multicultural Jubilee Year celebration set for July 6 to 9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Soto keeps his appointment book full. He has a small study and a bedroom at the rectory of St. Boniface Church in Anaheim but is rarely there because of his packed schedule. He said he is often invited to preach in Spanish to local parishioners. He has long been an advocate of carrying Catholicism to young Latinos and is devoted to visiting the ill and elderly.

“He’s been a great ally on human relations issues dealing with diversity,” said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Human Relations Commission in Orange County. “He has a very caring and thoughtful way of looking at life. He tries real hard to not judge people by their worst side but find and hold up the best in people.”

Some Latino leaders said Soto has energized and inspired them by his dogged efforts to increase Spanish-language Masses.

He is widely considered the bridge between Latinos and church officials.

“He can so easily blend Spanish and English,” said Amin David, president of Los Amigos of Orange County, a Latino activist group. “He makes it a symphony. When he speaks, tremendous sweetness and harmony come out.”