Pope Names Oakland Bishop Cordileone As Archbishop Of San Francisco

WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI hasnamed Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, California, 56, archbishop ofSan Francisco, and accepted the resignation of Archbishop George H. Niederauer,76, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The appointment and resignation werepublicized in Washington, July 27, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolicnuncio to the United States.

Salvatore Joseph Cordileone was bornJune 5, 1956, in San Diego. He studied at St. Francis Seminary, San Diego, andNorth American College and Gregorian University, Rome. He was ordained a priestof the Diocese of San Diego on July 9, 1982 and pursued doctoral studies incanon law in Rome from 1985-1989. From 1985-1991, he served as an official ofthe Tribunal of the Diocese of San Diego. From 1989-1991, he served a secretaryto the diocesan bishop, and from 1991-1995, he served as pastor of Our Lady ofGuadalupe Parish, Calexico, California.

From 1995-2002, he served as anofficial of the Supreme Tribunal of the Signatura, Rome, the Church's highestjuridical body under the pope. In 1999, he was named a monsignor.

On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul IIappointed him auxiliary bishop of San Diego. He was ordained a bishop on August21 of that year. On March 23, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop ofOakland. Archbishop-designate Cordileone is currently chairman of theSubcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage of the U.S. Conference ofCatholic Bishops (USCCB), a post he has held since January 2011.

George Hugh Niederauer was born June14, 1936, in Los Angeles. He studied at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo,California, and The Catholic University of America in Washington. He earnedadvanced degrees in English literature from Loyola University of Los Angelesand the University of Southern California. He was ordained a priest of theArchdiocese of Los Angeles on April 30, 1962, and ordained bishop of Salt LakeCity on January 25, 1995. On December 15, 2005, he was appointed archbishop ofSan Francisco.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco has1,761,000 persons, with 432,163, or 25 percent, of them Catholic. It covers1,012 square miles in California.

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Keywords: Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò,Archbishop-Designate Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop George Niederauer,retirement, appointment, Archdiocese of San Francisco, Diocese of Oakland,Diocese of San Diego, Apostolic Signatura, Promotion and Defense of Marriage

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