Pope taps San Francisco auxiliary to become ninth bishop of Diocese of Salt Lake City

better for it as we welcome the stranger among us and grow ever richer in a multi-cultural church."

One of the primary focuses of the American Catholic Bishops' writings on the issues of immigration, he said, "in keeping families united...

"Welcoming and ministering to immigrants is one of the obligations we have," he said. "To those who are given, much is expected."

In a one-on-one interview with the Intermountain Catholic, Bishop Wester said immigration issues affect all of us. "We're all immigrants in the sense that we are all on a journey to the Lord. As fellow pilgrims, we need to care for one another. It's not a question of we're going to be nice to you, so we'll let you in. It's a question of justice. We need to share what we have in an orderly, law-abiding way."

He said immigration stimulates the country's economy, and it is up to us to advocate against injustice and unjust treatment of immigrants.

Bishop Wester said he expects to spend a great deal of time during his first months here determining what the spiritual needs of the people are.

"The Eucharist is the center of what we do and who we are. We need to be formed in our spiritual lives continuously," he said, emphasizing the need for good, beautiful liturgies, well-planned and delivered homilies, and a strong program of religious education for children and adults.

Bishop Wester said he learned of his new appointment "Monday, December 18 at 1:18 p.m., while driving in Los Angeles with some life-long family friends. My mother and I were in the car driving up from Los Angeles, and the papal nuncio called me. They patched me through with the miracle of modern technology. I nearly drove off the road when I heard his voice. I knew something was afoot when I heard the nuncio wanted to speak with me."

Bishop Wester pulled over, and called Archbishop Sambi back. The nuncio then put Bishop Wester under the seal of Vatican secrecy, so he was not even able to tell his mother what the call was about.

Aware of the fact that he will be taking over a diocese in which the Catholic population is "growing by leaps and bounds," Bishop Wester said he expects there will be elements of fund raising involved, as there is in any growing church. "It is only good stewardship to provide for those who come after us," he said during the press conference.

Although leaving San Francisco, his lifelong home will be difficult, Bishop Wester told the Intermountain Catholic that his family has always been supportive of him from the time he was a sixth-grader and felt he was being called to a priestly vocation.

"My parents have always been my first inspiration and my strongest supporters when it came to my becoming a priest," he said. "I also was helped along the way by parish priests like Msgr. Richard W. Powers, whom I remember pulling me out of class to take the test for the seminary, and Father Warren Woods, who was a great source of encouragement for me.

Bishop Wester attended public school until the third grade because he was unable to get into a Catholic school. "The schools were full all the time, and I just couldn't get in. But in the fourth grade I began attending Our Lady of Mercy, a double (elementary and high school) run by the Dominican Sisters in Daly City."

He began assisting at the altar during Mass, and by the sixth grade he was training other altar servers.

During a visit to the Sister of the Carmel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Holladay, Bishop Wester remarked on their diversity. The sisters include one from Korea and another from Vietnam, in addition to a Utah native and a sister from Idaho, as well as two of the monastery's founding sisters from Alhambra, Calif.

"It's as if you have a little United Nations here," he said.

Bishop Wester is a man of eclectic interests. He plays the piano, golf, and bridge, and he enjoys hiking.

"I look forward to exploring these beautiful, rugged Wasatch Mountains," he said.

Catholic News Service contributed to this story.