Bishop Solis, with hobbies and background, fits in well with previous Salt Lake prelates
Friday, Feb. 10, 2017
So we have a new bishop-designate at last, in the person of the Most Reverend Oscar A. Solis, who is currently an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. I barely had time to introduce myself the day he was here last month, but he did tell me he loves history, so I’m sure we’ll get along fine.
We’ll all have plenty of time to get to know him after his installation on March 7, but I’m trying to get a head start by reading the press releases and thinking about how he might compare and contrast with our previous bishops. None of this comparing has much significance, of course, because each bishop is his own man, but I thought it was entertaining and decided to share it with you.
In the first place, Bishop Solis is the fifth prelate we’ve gotten from California, after the Right Rev. Lawrence Scanlan, the first Bishop of Salt Lake; the Right Rev. Joseph S. Glass, our second bishop; the Most Rev. George H. Niederauer, our eighth bishop; and the Most Rev. John C. Wester, our ninth bishop.
Lest we feel tempted to develop warm and sentimental feelings about California, though, let me remind you that we’ve also lost three ordinaries to the Golden State – both the Right Rev. John J. Mitty, who was our third bishop, and Bishop Niederauer went on to serve as Archbishop of San Francisco; and the Most. Rev. William K. Weigand, our seventh bishop, was appointed Bishop of Sacramento. Most of us feared that San Francisco was going to reclaim Bishop Wester as well. (We did lose him, but to Santa Fe, where he is now archbishop.) California giveth and California taketh away. We can only hope that gravitational pull has no hold on Bishop Solis – it’s one tradition we can live without.
Those of us who love the Latin language can note with pleasure that Bishop Solis is the first to have a Latin motto – Fiat Voluntas Tua (Thy Will Be Done) – since Bishop Joseph L. Federal in 1960. I thought we had seen the last of that, but here we are.
Speaking of languages, Bishop Solis is the first Salt Lake bishop since Bishop Scanlan to be multi-lingual: he speaks English, Spanish, Filipino and Creole (which he picked up while serving in Louisiana). Even at that, the linguistic genius Scanlan far outstripped him, with competence in Irish Gaelic, English, Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish and a smattering of Arabic as well! Of course before Vatican II all priests had to be competent in Latin, but since that time, with the ever-increasing influx of Hispanic Catholics, a Spanish competence has become imperative for our bishops, and almost so for our priests.
Bishop Solis and Bishop Scanlan also share the distinction of having been our only foreign-born prelates – Bishop Scanlan in Ireland and Bishop Solis in the Philippines. The two came close to sharing another thing, for Bishop Solis has a brother who is a priest. I thought Bishop Scanlan did, too, but research discloses that although he had an uncle and a cousin in the clergy, none of his brothers were. None of our other bishops had family members in the priesthood.
Bishop Solis is an accomplished pianist, as was Bishop Wester. We’ve had other musical bishops as well: The Most Rev. James E. Kearney, our fourth bishop, had a fine tenor voice and loved to burst out in Irish folk songs. Bishop Duane G. Hunt, our fifth bishop, was a singer as well, and conducted the Cathedral choir before becoming bishop. It is less well known that he was a clarinetist. Bishop Niederauer played the trombone in his high school band. He told me on a couple of occasions that he was a terrible trombonist, and was always assigned the last chair in the section, but I later learned that his band director said he was actually very good. I believe it; Bishop Niederauer never failed to excel in anything to which he put his hand.
We’ve had other bishops who were auxiliaries before they took charge of our diocese. I could almost list Bishop Glass as the first one, because he was in the works to assist Bishop Scanlan, but Bishop Scanlan died before the appointment could be made, and Bishop Glass became the ordinary instead.
Because of his deteriorating eyesight, Bishop Hunt had two auxiliaries: Leo J. Steck died unexpectedly in 1950, before he could succeed Bishop Hunt. The Most Rev. Joseph L. Federal later became Bishop Hunt’s auxiliary and did succeed him.
Then of course we had Bishop Wester, who was auxiliary in San Francisco; and now Bishop Solis, who is auxiliary in Los Angeles.
What is the significance of all this? Nothing much, I suppose, as I indicated earlier. But it’s a fun little exercise in getting to know our new bishop.
Welcome to Salt Lake City, Bishop Solis! We look forward to getting to know you much better after March 7, and to many years under your pastoral care.
Gary Topping is the Diocese of Salt Lake City archivist.
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