The Valley Catholic
in the diocese
February 11, 2014
3
Bishops McGrath & Sevilla
celebrate 25 years
of episcopal ordination
By Roberta Ward
Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, along with Bishop
Carlos Sevilla, SJ, Emeritus of Yakima, Washington, celebrated 25 years of episcopal ordination,
Jan. 25, with a special evening Mass in St. Joseph
Cathedral Basilica, in the company of some 20 bishops, including San Jose Auxiliary Bishop Thomas
Daly, and archbishops, most of them from California and the western states; and some 120 priests.
Also present was Cardinal William Levada,
Archbishop Emeritus of San Francisco and Prefect
Emeritus of the Vatican’s Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith.
Father Michael Weiler, SJ, Provincial of the
California Province of the Society of Jesus, was
also in attendance and concelebrant.
Bishops McGrath and Sevilla were named
auxiliary bishops in the Archdiocese of San Francisco in December 1988 and were ordained to the
episcopate Jan. 25, 1989.
Bishop Sevilla, now retired, served as Bishop of
Yakima, Washington, 1996-2011. Bishop McGrath
was named Coadjutor Bishop of San Jose in 1998
and succeeded Bishop Pierre DuMaine in 1999,
becoming the second Bishop of San Jose.
Archbishop John R. Quinn, Emeritus of San
Francisco, who presided at the episcopal ordination of Bishops McGrath and Sevilla in 1989, was
the main celebrant at their anniversary Mass.
The Reading for the day was based on the
conversion of St. Paul. Archbishop Quinn said,
“The Risen Lord comes in the Eucharist; the Cross
is a significant part of the story. The Risen Christ
teaches reverence for our body.
“We are reminded of the victory of the Cross–
Christ himself conquered sin and