Vatican City, Aug 25, 2016 / 06:45 am
On Thursday, Pope Francis appointed Mexico native Fr. Jorge Rodriguez, former professor and Vice-Rector of St. John Vianney Seminary, as a new auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver.
"Father Rodriguez is a passionate pastor and teacher of the faith, and he will serve this archdiocese well in the role of auxiliary bishop," Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila said in an Aug. 25 press release announcing the priest's appointment.
Fr. Rodriguez, 61, has been pastor at Holy Cross Parish in Thornton, Colo. since 2014, as well as an adjunct professor at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. The announcement of his appointment as auxiliary bishop came in an Aug. 25 communique from the Vatican.
Asked about his first-hand experience with the growing Hispanic Catholic community in Denver, Fr. Rodriguez told "Denver Catholic," the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Denver, that it is not about numbers so much as it is about their "vitality and live expressions of their Catholic faith."