The final days of May and these early days of June have been a great blessing for the Archdiocese of San Antonio. We give thanks to God for his love for us: Thanks be to God!

On May 17, two deacons were ordained to the priesthood. Then, on May 31, we had 21 men ordained to be permanent deacons and three as transitional deacons, and on June 2, the consecration of our new Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantú.

There are very few occasions in which a Catholic community can celebrate in such a short period of time all the orders of ministerial priesthood: deacon, priest, bishop. I am sure that God’s kindness will not go unnoticed by San Antonio Catholics.

Each ordination is an enormous grace, which would deserve special treatment, but on this occasion I want to invite everyone to extend a warm welcome to my new coworker in the Lord, Bishop Oscar Cantú.
A Texan, raised in Houston, Bishop Cantú, at age 41, is the youngest bishop in the United States. As I indicated the day of the announcement of his appointment as auxiliary bishop, he is a product of Catholic schools; but also of immigrant parents who, living in a large city of the United States, knew how to live and transmit their faith to their children.
At the center of Bishop Cantú’s coat of arms, is a table. For him that symbol has a dual meaning in his life. The table represents both the altar and the family. It is obvious to all who know him, the importance family has played in Bishop Cantú’s life. From his loving and faith-filled parents he learned the very principles that guide and shape his ministry today.
With the support of his parents, Bishop Cantú continued his studies of English literature at the University of Dallas, graduated from the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome with his S.T.L. in Dogmatic Theology, and has been a professor at the University of St. Thomas.
Bishop Cantú brings to San Antonio a rich pastoral and formative experience. His pastoral work at various Houston parishes, where he has served with dedication and generosity, has given him a great appreciation for the challenges and rewards of parish life. He has been a good pastor and has worked in unity with his bishop and fraternal collaboration with his brother priests and deacons. He is well loved and admired by the people of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
The Lord certainly works in mysterious ways. And one of them is the long relationship of his parents with our beloved Archbishop Patrick F. Flores.  Before he was born, his parents, devout Catholics, often invited their pastor to their home for meals and through parish ministry and family, they developed a close friendship. Now their son, Bishop Cantú, has also received the call to come to San Antonio as our new auxiliary bishop!
Since his arrival, the day of his appointment, Bishop Cantú has shared his gratitude for the priests and bishops who have influenced his life as a priest, and the desire to answer the call of Christ to become a successor of the Apostles, capable of seeing, as he himself has indicated, “God in the faces and lives of the poor, the suffering, the happy, the young and the old.”
In these days, he has also made a request from us: he’s asking our constant prayer for him. Bishop Cantú, as all bishops, entrusts himself to the strength and the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the love and prayers of the people he serves. Let’s pray that he will always be a pastor who ministers with love, in truth and in compassion.
Congratulations, Bishop Cantú! God has truly shown the Archdiocese of San Antonio his love for us, sending us a new co-worker in the office of bishop!