Pope Francis names four new auxiliary bishops for the Los Angeles Archdiocese

Pope Francis has named four priests in the Los Angeles Archdiocese as auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese: Msgr. Albert Bahhuth, Capuchin Fr. Matthew Elshoff, Fr. Brian Nunes and Fr. Slawomir Szkredka.

Bahhuth, a priest of the archdiocese, is currently pastor of Holy Family Church in Pasadena, California. Elshoff, a member of his religious order's Our Lady of Angels Province, is currently pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in the Watts area of South Los Angeles. Nunes, a priest of the archdiocese, is currently vicar general and moderator of the curia for the archdiocese. BSzkredka, also an LA archdiocesan priest, is currently a professor of biblical studies and coordinator of human formation at St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California.

Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez will ordain the newly named bishops Sept. 26 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.

The appointments were publicized in Washington July 18 by Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

"This is a day of joy for the family of God in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles," Gomez said in a July 18 statement. "We give thanks to God, and we thank the Holy Father for this great blessing of new bishops. Each is a man of prayer who loves Jesus and has a deep desire to share God's love and to serve God's people. We are praying for them, and we entrust them to the tender care of Holy Mary our Blessed Mother."

Since the death of Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell last February, only one of the L.A. Archdiocese's five pastoral regions, San Pedro, was being overseen by an auxiliary, Bishop Marc Trudeau. The other four pastoral regions have been under the leadership of interim episcopal vicars.

The LA appointments mark the first time Francis has appointed four auxiliaries at one time for any diocese, according to Angelus, the online news outlet of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Citing data from David Cheney, creator of the website, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, Angelus reported that the last time a pope appointed four auxiliary bishops at once for the same diocese was when St. John Paul II appointed four for the Archdiocese of Bogotá, Colombia, in 1986.

Bahhuth, 66, was born Oct. 6, 1956, in Beirut, Lebanon. He came to the United States with his family at a young age and is now a U.S. citizen. He received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri and earned a master's degree and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Mississippi in 1983. He attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo and earned a master of divinity degree in theology in 1996.

Ordained to the priesthood June 1, 1996, his first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Whittier (1996-2000). His later assignments were as parochial vicar at a Glendale parish, then as pastor at parishes in Burbank and Santa Clarita.

Named a monsignor in 2017, he has been pastor of Holy Family in Pasadena since 2021. Before that he was vicar general of the LA Archdiocese for five years. He speaks English, Arabic and Spanish.

"I am blessed to be called to be a bishop during this transitional time in the life of the Church, where our Holy Father is calling us to a synodal approach to governing and caring for the people of God, to go out to the peripheries and bring home our brothers and sisters who are searching for the truth and for meaning and purpose to their lives," the Bishop-designate said in a statement provided to Angelus.

Elshoff, 67, was born Sept. 24, 1955, in Cincinnati. He began his priestly formation at St. Albert's Priory in Oakland, California (1976-1978) as well as the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California (1978-1982) where he earned a master of divinity degree and a master of theology degree.

Then-Father Elshoff attended the California Family Study Center where he received his master's in marriage and family therapy (1984-1986), and a license in marriage and family therapy (1990). Elshoff made his perpetual profession as a Capuchin Sept. 22, 1979, and was ordained to the priesthood June 18, 1982.

As a Capuchin, Elshoff has served all but seven years ministering in the LA archdiocese, including as president of his alma mater, St. Francis High School, in 1993. His assignments at the school also included serving as campus minister, administrative director, teacher and counselor (1985-1989), and alumni director (1992). He has been assistant novice master/vicar of San Lorenzo (1989); provincial minister at St. Francis of Assisi Friary in Burlingame (2008-2014); and pastor of Old Mission Santa Ines in Solvang (2015-2018).

He also served as local provincial for the Capuchins from 2008 to 2014. Pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi in Los Angeles since 2018, the bishop-designate speaks English and Spanish.

"This important moment in my life and the Archdiocese speaks to the mysterious ways of the Lord," he said in a statement. "I am very grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis for placing his confidence in me by appointing me an auxiliary bishop as well as to Archbishop Gomez for his part in accepting me as one of his auxiliaries. I am humbled to serve the priests, deacons, religious and people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles."