(ZENIT News / Washington, 07.18.2023).- Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Albert M. Bahhuth, Rev. Matthew Elshoff, OFM, Cap., Rev. Brian Nunes, and Rev. Slawomir S. Szkredka, as auxiliary bishops of Los Angeles.
The appointments were publicized in Washington, D.C. on July 18, 2023, by Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop-elect Bahhuth is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and currently pastor of Holy Family Church in South Pasadena. Bishop-elect Elshoff is a priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a religious order, and a member of Our Lady of Angels Province, currently serving as pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in Los Angeles. Bishop-elect Nunes is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, currently serving as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the archdiocese. Bishop-elect Szkredka is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, currently serving as formator and professor at Saint John Seminary in Camarillo.
Bishop-elect Albert M. Bahhuth
Monsignor Bahhuth was born October 6, 1956, in Beirut, Lebanon. He came to the United States with his family at a young age and is now a U.S. citizen. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri and earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Mississippi in 1983. He attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California, and earned a master of divinity in theology (1996). He was ordained to the priesthood on June 1, 1996.
Bishop-elect Bahhuth’s assignments after ordination include: parochial vicar at St. Gregory the Great parish in Whittier, 1996-2000; parochial vicar, Holy Family Catholic Church in Glendale, 2000-2002; pastor of St. Finbar parish in Burbank, 2002-2013; pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in Santa Clarita, 2013-2015; and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 2015-2020. He was named a Chaplain to His Holiness with the title of Monsignor in 2017. Since 2021, he has served as pastor of Holy Family parish in Pasadena. Bishop-elect Bahhuth speaks English, Arabic, and Spanish.
Bishop-elect Matthew Elshoff, OFM, Cap.
Father Elshoff was born September 24, 1955, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He began his priestly formation at St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland, California (1976-1978) as well as the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology in Berkeley, California (1978-1982) where he earned a master of divinity and a master of theology. Father Elshoff attended the California Family Study Center where he received his master’s in marriage and family therapy (1984-1986), and a license in marriage and family therapy (1990). Father Elshoff made his perpetual profession as a Capuchin on September 22, 1979, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1982.
Bishop-elect Elshoff’s assignments in Our Lady of Angels Province after ordination include: vocation director (1982-1985), campus minister/administrative director/teacher/counselor (1985-1989), alumni director (1992), and president (1993) at St. Francis High School in La Cañada; assistant novice master/vicar of San Lorenzo (1989); provincial minister at St. Francis of Assisi Friary in Burlingame (2008-2014); and pastor of Old Mission Santa Ines in Solvang (2015-2018). He has served as pastor of St. Lawrence of Brindisi in Los Angeles since 2018. Bishop-elect Elshoff speaks English and Spanish.
Bishop-elect Brian Nunes
Father Nunes was born October 26, 1964, in Los Angeles, California. He has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Loyola Marymount University (1986). He attended St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo and received a bachelor’s in philosophy and a master of divinity in 2008. Father Nunes was ordained to the priesthood on May 31, 2008.
Bishop-elect Nunes’s assignments in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles include: associate pastor (2008-2012) and administrator (2012-2014) at Mary Star of the Sea parish in San Pedro (2008-2012); administrator of St. Gregory the Great parish in Whittier (2014-2015); priest secretary to the archbishop (2015-2019); and vice chancellor of the archdiocese (2018-2020). He has served as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the archdiocese since 2020. Bishop-elect Nunes speaks English, Tagalog, and Spanish.
Bishop-elect Slawomir S. Szkredka
Father Szkredka was born May 12, 1974, in Czechowice, Poland. He attended St. Cyril and Methodious Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan and received a bachelor’s in philosophy and a master of divinity in theology in 2002. He also undertook advanced studies in Rome, Italy from 2008-2015 and received a doctorate in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in 2016. Father Szkredka was ordained to the priesthood on January 12, 2002.
Bishop-elect Szkredka’s assignments in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles include: associate pastor at St. Genevieve parish in Panorama City (2002-2006); and associate pastor at St. John the Baptist parish in Baldwin Park (2006-2008). Since 2015, he has served as formator and professor of biblical studies at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. Bishop-elect Szkredka speaks English, Polish, and Spanish.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is comprised of 8,636 square miles in the State of California and has a total population of 11,291,951 of which 4,011,257 are Catholic.
