New auxiliary bishop ordained for San Bernardino Diocese

Published: 2005-09-27

CHINO HILLS, Calif. (CNS) -- Bishop Rutilio Juan del Riego Janez became the 25th active Hispanic bishop in the United States when he was ordained an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of San Bernardino Sept. 20, the day before his 65th birthday. San Bernardino Bishop Gerald R. Barnes ordained the new auxiliary in the presence of Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Chino Hills. Bishop del Riego's was the first episcopal appointment made for a California diocese by Pope Benedict XVI and the first in San Bernardino since the 2003 death of Auxiliary Bishop Dennis P. O'Neil. Many of Bishop del Riego's former parishioners from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Riverside, where he had been pastor since 2001, were among the 2,000 lay people participating in the ordination Mass. The liturgy was multilingual -- Vietnamese, Tongan, Spanish and English -- and reflected the diversity of the 70,000-square-mile diocese.

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