Father Cirilo B. Flores, a former lawyer and recently-installed pastor of St. Norbert Church in Orange, was appointed an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange Jan 5.

Bishop-designate Flores, 60, who entered St. John's Seminary in Camarillo at age 37 following a ten-year law career in civil litigation, has ministered in the diocese for 18 years. He was ordained in 1991.

A Corona native, Father Flores said his appointment came as a shock, especially because he had just been installed as pastor of St. Norbert in December after serving as pastor at St. Anne in Santa Ana for eight years. Previous assignments included serving as a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Habra, St. Joachim Church in Costa Mesa, and St. Barbara Church in Santa Ana. He also served briefly as the administrator of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Newport Beach.

"I love being a pastor. I hope to do a lot of pastoral visitation as a bishop," Father Flores told The Tidings in a Jan. 5 phone interview sandwiched in between numerous congratulatory calls from friends and family members, including five siblings. The announcement was made public Jan. 5 in Washington by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

At a Jan. 5 press conference in Orange, Father Flores was introduced as Bishop-elect by Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown. "We are truly blessed as a Diocese to have benefited from the pastoral care and unique gifts offered by Bishop-elect Flores over his 18 years of service to Orange County," said Bishop Brown.

"The Holy Father has rightly chosen a dynamic leader and capable pastor to assist me in the care of our Catholic family. I look forward to his unique insight and profound understanding of the many diverse communities that make our Diocese so culturally rich," added the bishop.

"With the help of God and the intercession of his Blessed Mother, I will try to do my best to take on these new responsibilities," said Father Flores. He will be ordained by Bishop Brown March 19 at St. Columban Church, Garden Grove.

Father Flores is the second priest from the diocese to be appointed a bishop. As auxiliary bishop, he will assume the responsibilities of Bishop Jaime Soto, who was recently installed as bishop of Sacramento (he had served as coadjutor bishop since October 2007). Fluent in Spanish and English, Bishop-elect Flores has ancestral roots in Mexico --- all four of his grandparents were from Mexico and his father was a native of Sinaloa, Mexico.

A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Bishop-elect Flores entered the Jesuit Seminary novitiate in Santa Barbara at age 22, but left after one year to attend Stanford Law School. During his decade as a lawyer in private practice, he remained very involved in parish ministry and was urged by several priest friends to reconsider the priesthood. He entered St. John's Seminary in Camarillo in 1986 and was ordained at age 41 by Bishop Norman McFarland at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange.

"He's a very simple person and very humble. He always thanks people for coming to Mass," said Father Joseph Tran, parochial vicar at St. Norbert Church. "I think he will be a great addition to the diocese which has many Hispanics." In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Bishop-elect Flores has served on the Bishop's Council of Priests, Finance Council, and Priests Personnel Board.

"I look forward to continuing my mission of service to the people of God as Auxiliary Bishop of Orange," said the Bishop-elect. "It is an honor to have been selected by Pope Benedict XVI to assist Bishop Brown and Bishop Dominic Luong in the administration of our growing diocese." Created in 1976, the Diocese of Orange has grown to more than 1.2 million parishioners.

CNS contributed to this story.