Roger Mahony facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Eminence Roger Michael Mahony KGCHS
Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Los Angeles
Mahony in March 2006
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Appointed	July 12, 1985
Enthroned	September 5, 1985
Predecessor	Timothy Manning
Successor	José Horacio Gómez
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Quattro Coronati
Orders
Ordination	May 1, 1962
Consecration	March 19, 1975 by Hugh Aloysius Donohoe, William Robert Johnson, and John Stephen Cummins
Created Cardinal	June 28, 1991
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1936-02-27) February 27, 1936 (age 88) Los Angeles, California, US
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Victor and Loretta Mahony
Previous post	Bishop of Stockton (1980–1985) Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno and Titular Bishop of Tamascani< (1975–1980)
Education	Catholic University of America
Motto	To reconcile God's people

Roger Michael Mahony KGCHS (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment, he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno from 1975 to 1980 and bishop of the Diocese of Stockton from 1980 to 1985.

Born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood in 1962. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Fresno in January 1975 and consecrated bishop in March 1975. Mahony was then appointed bishop of Stockton in 1980. In 1985, he was appointed archbishop of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II, and became the first Los Angeles native to hold the office. The pope created Mahony a cardinal in 1991, and he voted in the papal conclaves that elected Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.

During his tenure as Los Angeles archbishop, Mahony was instrumental in dividing the archdiocese into five administrative subdivisions and in guiding the construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which opened in September 2002.

In 2011, Mahony reached the mandatory retirement age for bishops and was succeeded by Archbishop José Horacio Gómez on March 1. On January 31, 2013, Gómez relieved Mahony of his public and episcopal duties in the archdiocese.

Early life and education

Roger Mahony was born on February 27, 1936, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, the son of Victor and Loretta (née Baron) Mahony. He has a twin brother, Louis, and an older brother, Neil. Roger Mahony attended St. Charles Borromeo Grammar School in North Hollywood and Los Angeles College.

Priesthood

After studying at the Our Lady Queen of Angels Seminary and St. John's Seminary, Mahony was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Fresno on May 1, 1962, by Bishop Aloysius Joseph Willinger.

Mahony graduated from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1964 with a Master of Social Work degree. For the next 13 years, Mahony held pastoral and curial assignments in the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno and the newly formed Diocese of Fresno. He also taught social work at Fresno State University in Fresno, California. Mahony was named a monsignor in February 1967.

Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno

Mahony's coat of arms on the cathedra in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles

On January 7, 1975, Mahony was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Fresno and titular bishop of Tamascani by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on March 19, 1975, from Bishop Hugh Aloysius Donohoe, with Bishops William Robert Johnson and John Stephen Cummins serving as co-consecrators. That year, former California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Mahony the state's chair of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, where he worked with the United Farm Workers and other growers to resolve labor disputes.

Bishop of Stockton

On February 15, 1980, Mahony was appointed bishop of Stockton by Pope John Paul II, as announced by the nuncio, Jean Jadot.

Archbishop of Los Angeles and Cardinal-Priest

Mahony with former U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA)

On July 16, 1985, Mahony was appointed as archbishop of Los Angeles by John Paul II, becoming the first native Angeleno to hold the office. He was created cardinal-priest of Santi Quattro Coronati by John Paul II in the consistory of June 28, 1991.

After the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and became unusable, Mahony began planning the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which would become one of the largest Catholic churches in the United States. It was dedicated on September 2, 2002.

In 1987, Mahony presided over the controversial auction of an extensive collection of rare books, including a Gutenberg Bible, donated to St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California, by philanthropist Carrie Estelle Doheny. The auction raised $37.8 million, which was publicly earmarked for an endowment to train new priests. However, by 1996, some $23 to 25 million of these funds had been spent, including $1 million for a renovation of Mahony's living quarters.

In May 1998, Mahony announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent a prostatectomy on June 15, 1998; doctors said that the surgery was successful.

Mahony was a cardinal elector in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI, as well as in the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis.

Civic involvement

Mahony served on the board of Catholic University of America. He also served on a number of committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), including those on Liturgy and Migration & Refugees.

In the Vatican, Mahony was a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (1984–1989) and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (1986–1991). Mahony also served with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (1989–2000), the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See (2000–2019), and the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

In 1992, Mahony published a pastoral letter Film Makers, Film Viewers on the topic of television news and the entertainment industry.

Mahony spoke out on provisions in the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437), debated by Congress in late 2005 and 2006. He wrote to President George W. Bush that certain measures in the bill would effectively outlaw providing charitable assistance and religious ministry to undocumented immigrants.

In May 2006, Mahony announced that he would order the clergy and laity of the archdiocese to ignore H.R. 4437 if it were to become law. Mahony personally lobbied the US Senators from California, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, to have the US Senate consider a comprehensive immigration reform bill, rather than the enforcement-only bill that passed the US House of Representatives. Mahony also blamed the US Congress for the illegal immigration crisis, due to their failure to act on the issue in the previous 20 years. He supported instead the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006.

Retirement

On April 6, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Gómez as the coadjutor archbishop in Los Angeles to assist Mahony. Gómez automatically succeeded Mahony as archbishop on February 28, 2011. The ceremony of transition was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, with Mahony's resignation taking canonical effect on March 1, 2011.

In his retirement, Mahony planned to devote more time to advocacy on behalf of immigrants. He was residing at his childhood parish in North Hollywood.

Episcopal succession