Msgr. Ramon V. Garcia

    Msgr. Ramon V. Garcia was pastor at Our Lady of Grace during Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ residence there, and the two shared a common bond of family in Monterrey. “In fact, he belonged to the same parish that my sisters live in,” noted Msgr. Garcia. “He was an altar boy there.”
    He remembers the archbishop-designate as “a very highly educated guy … very patient, very calm.” He soon helped him find a house down the street from the church that was perfect for the study center, but Archbishop-Designate Gomez continued to help out in the parish with Masses, baptisms, funerals and the like. The center also used the facilities at Our Lady of Grace, as needed, with parishioners from there, as well as other local and South Texas parishes, attending the recollections presented at the center by the archbishop-designate.
    Msgr. Garcia served as one of the archbishop-designate’s two chaplains at his episcopal ordination in Denver in 2001, which he described as “one of the most magnificent ordinations I’d ever seen,” with over 50 bishops present. Archbishop-Designate Gomez had previously met them all through his work as Texas vicar for Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church which follows (and actually preceded) the mandate of Vatican II. Through it, both laity and clergy strive to live out the message that all the baptized are called to holiness through the fulfillment of their daily work and duties.
    “They (Opus Dei priests) are to the church what the Jesuits were,” noted Msgr. Garcia. “They’ve always been considered the top notch educators — and they still are. But these guys come in second very easily.” He added that they are “very famous for their formation of the laity.”
    He describes San Antonio’s archbishop-designate as being humble despite his several degrees (a doctorate in sacred theology, bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and theology, plus an accounting degree) and notes he is a CPA, excellent typist and computer whiz, who speaks Latin, Spanish, Italian and English.

    “He’s good at basketball and handball and racquetball,” remarked Msgr. Garcia. “In Denver, the archbishop’s house is on the seminary grounds and so is the faculty … So he used to go and play basketball with the seminarians — and within a few months he knew their names.”
    Msgr. Garcia sees San Antonio’s new archbishop as following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Archbishop Patrick F. Flores and, like him, coming here to serve the people. “He has a great respect for Archbishop Flores,” he added. He noted the new archbishop will be living in the quarters at Assumption Seminary previously occupied by Archbishop Flores.
    He also pointed out that Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ Spanish heritage is a historical link with San Antonio’s past, as the church in what is now Texas started 400 years ago under the jurisdiction of bishops in Mexico who were Spaniards.
    Reflecting on the archbishop-designate’s many fine qualities, Msgr. Garcia noted that he has, in addition to all the proper qualifications for the job, a personality that will endear him to the people of the archdiocese.
    “I knew when he went to Denver they were preparing him for something,” mused Msgr. Garcia. “Maybe L.A., I thought. … We knew he wasn’t ordinary.”

Teresa Hinojosa

    Teresa Hinojosa, a lifelong parishioner of Our Lady of Grace, has known Archbishop-Designate Gomez since 1990 and still fondly refers to him as “Father José.” She remembers all the help he was to Msgr. Garcia. In addition to administrative duties, he performed numerous baptisms of children and served in the confessional and as a spiritual director. “He was my spiritual director,” she said, “And I still consider him my spiritual director.”
    She recalls how he would drive in from Houston, first, every two weeks, then weekly, assisting at Our Lady of Grace from Friday though Sunday. What stands out in her memory is his compassion towards families with members suffering from disabilities — mental disorders, autism, cystic fibrosis.     “Most people shun away from problems of that nature,” she said, “and, actually, Father José embraces that person and their family all that much more.” She also notes his friendliness — “the way he reaches out to people” — as being another of his trademarks.
    “I think history will record this as a pivotal time in San Antonio in particular,” she said, “Not only because he jumped from an auxiliary bishop, bypassing bishop to archbishop, but the division of the territory” (Galveston-Houston being elevated to an archdiocese). She foresees an increase of vocations due to his leadership. “The springtime of Christianity that Our Holy Father has spoken about is going to bloom,” she said.
    She describes Archbishop-Designate Gomez as “very spiritual,” adding that he gets up at 6 a.m. daily to pray and that he places great emphasis on the formation of the laity. Besides being aware of Hispanic issues, she sees him as having “a sensitivity and understanding that San Antonio is multi-cultural and that we are very rich in Polish ancestry and the German church down here, St. Joseph’s, and the Italian church.”

     Hinojosa was one of the San Antonians who traveled to Denver for Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ episcopal ordination and also for his 25th anniversary to the priesthood. “We told Denver at that time that we were praying him here to San Antonio,” she said, “that there was a contingency, a coalition of prayer warriors, that were.” This caused a Denver gentleman at the event to note they’d better get to work praying hard to keep him. “We won!” said Hinojosa, smiling.
    She admits she was on “pins and needles” when a friend called her with media rumors the night before the announcement of his San Antonio appointment. She and her family received a confirmation call from the newly designated archbishop himself around 6 a.m., shortly after the official announcement was released. “He just asked that everybody pray for him, and I said we would,” she said. He also asked her to pass on to Msgr. Lawrence Walsh, current pastor at Our Lady of Grace, that he wanted to say a Mass there soon.
    The Hinojosas were part of the group of families who threw “Father José” a going away barbecue when he left for his Denver appointment, and they hope to throw him a welcome home party as well — when he has the time. “He’s as down to earth as you can get,” she said. “He plays basketball with the kids.”
    She notes that he brings with him a tremendous amount of experience gleaned in the Archdiocese of Denver and is especially devoted to the Holy Father and Our Lady of Guadalupe. She credits her current involvement in the RCIA program at Our Lady of Grace to the archbishop-designate’s prayers.     “I’ve taught CCD for a long time,” she said, “and he always wanted me in adult formation and the RCIA program and that’s why I’m in it right now — he must have prayed so hard!”
    While she will miss having him at Our Lady of Grace Parish as before, she knows he will be happy living at Assumption Seminary. “I think he really wants to focus on the seminarians,” she said. “And he’ll take them out there to play basketball!”

Dr. Félix D. Almaráz, Jr.

    Dr. Félix Almaráz, Jr., a history professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) downtown campus, became acquainted with Archbishop-Designate Gomez in a round about way — through a visit to South America. Almaráz was a senior Fulbright Scholar in Argentina in 1988, when some of his students in the town of Rosario invited him to visit their Opus Dei house of formation. He was impressed with the wonderful restoration they had done of the older mansion that served as an Opus Dei center, housing young men on one side, young women on the other, and featuring a beautiful chapel.
    When he later traveled to Buenos Aires, he discovered an invitation was waiting for him to the Opus Dei house there. Here his hosts were all professionals — lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers, journalists and the like, but again, there was a lovely old home divided into men’s and women’s dormitories. “They would go to school during the day, or they would go to a job,” said Almaráz, “and then they would come back and they would have this safe haven, so they would not be out there succumbing to the pressures of the secular world.”
    Upon his return to San Antonio, Almaráz found himself invited by a local member of Opus Dei to attend an evening of recollection at Our Lady of Grace. “And Father José Gomez was our director,” added Almaráz, who became a member of the group himself.
    He notes there were fewer than eight Opus Dei members at the time. “We were so few in number that we would have our meetings in the choir loft of the church,” he said. He described Father José as “a very gentle man, very gentle priest,” who would give a brief homily at their meetings and hold confessions, before they broke for informal discussion and light refreshments. Some attended these meetings from as far away as Austin and Laredo.
    “And gentle Father José just kept driving back and forth between Houston and San Antonio,” he noted. Rest stops were made at Schulenburg, where Opus Dei maintains a retreat house, Featherock. When Almaráz jokingly referred to drives between the two UTSA campuses as his “I-10 Apostolate,” the priest replied his own weekly drives were his “San Antonio-Houston I-10 Apostolate!”

    After Almaráz lost his personal spiritual director, Msgr. Charles E. Herzig, who left to become Bishop of Tyler, a friend suggested he ask Father José to take on this role, which he did, leading to many lunches with spiritual direction. Almaráz also recalls a dinner at a Chinese restaurant with his wife and infant daughter back in 1991, to which they invited Father José. Afterwards they asked him to their home for freshly baked apple pie. “That visit gave to us a perspective of the gentle ministry of our new shepherd,” he said.
    At a Catholic historical conference in Amarillo last fall, Almaráz noted there was much talk as to who would be named to replace the retiring Archbishop Flores. Many names from the East and West Coast, Texas and San Antonio itself were bandied about till Almaráz declared, “Why don’t you look north, to the mountains?” The mountains he referred to were those of Denver, where Bishop Gomez was then serving as auxiliary bishop.
    When some seemed surprised at his suggestion, he replied, “Well, Archbishop Flores is a gentle pastor. The community, I think, would welcome a successor who would be just as gentle, as opposed to someone coming in and changing all the pictures in the chancery!” As soon as he heard the official announcement of Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ appointment, he woke up a bevy of friends with good news calls.
    Almaráz feels the archbishop-designate’s background in Opus Dei will be beneficial to the diocese. In response to persons unfamiliar with the charism and concerned as to how it will affect his role, he replied, “As he explained here very, very clearly, once you become a bishop, then your horizon is more broadened.”
    “I’m very happy for the archdiocese that the Holy See has made this choice,” said Almaráz. “I will wait until all of the celebration is over and then come to see my former director and offer my services.”

Cindy Cuellar

    Cindy Cuellar, mother of five and a parishioner at St. Paul Church, came to know Archbishop-Designate Gomez through his mornings of recollection at Our Lady of Grace. He became her spiritual director and confessor.
    Noting his fatherly advice and availability to all, Cuellar recalls they would often go as a family to see him. “When you’re raising a family, you have all kinds of things that come up that you’re encountering for the first time,” she said. “And it’s always good to have someone whom you can speak to about these things. He was always there for us.”
    Cuellar, her husband and oldest son attended Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ installation as bishop in Denver, and she and her son saw him again in Rome at the canonization of St. Josémaria Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of Opus Dei, where he was one of the presiders at the English-speaking Mass of Thanksgiving the following day.
    One of Cuellar’s children has autism, something Archbishop-Designate Gomez has helped them through. “He always helped us to see that as a real blessing to our family,” she said, “to realize that God has given us a special child and just to do our best to raise him and to see him as a gift from God.”

     She sees being a good listener as one of the incoming archbishop’s strongest attributes. “He doesn’t just give pat answers,” she said. She points out that this sometimes is more “listening and allowing the person to come to that inner realization of what God is trying to tell them.”
    Cuellar adds, “I think that each person matters to Bishop José.” She uses the word “wise” to describe him, also mentioning that he smiles and laughs a lot. “He likes a good joke,” she says. “I do remember him liking to play basketball a lot. He would play with the kids — whoever would want a good game.”
    She recalls his devotion to the Blessed Virgin, especially Our Lady of Guadalupe. “He is concerned about everyone growing in holiness,” she says, “and when you’re around him, you’re inspired to be better.” She notes he encourages people to do their ordinary tasks in a way that sanctifies their lives and those around them, inspiring others to aspire to holiness.
    “He’s had such a big impact,” she said, “because he helps the individual, who in turn helps others. It has a ripple effect.”

Michael King

    Michael King, local spokesperson for Opus Dei and general manager of Blue Star Brewing Company, has known Archbishop-Designate Gomez for 10 years. “I met him when I met Opus Dei,” he said. King’s wife first learned of the recollections offered by Opus Dei while attending Mass at St. Matthew. When King noticed the positive effect the recollections had on his wife, he began attending the ones for men. He notes this was during the time Archbishop-Designate Gomez was commuting weekly from Houston to spend three days a week here, providing means of formation through these days of recollection.
    King describes Archbishop-Designate Gomez as a practical, unassuming man who understands people well — a fact he attributes to his growing up with a number of sisters. “He’s a very kind man,” he said, “but at the same time, very professional.” Noting his Ph.D. in theology and accounting background, King says of San Antonio’s archbishop-designate, “He’s kind of this amazing mixture of kind-heartedness, but at the same time, a rock solid pastor.”

     King recalls playing basketball with him on Friday nights in the gym at Our Lady of Grace and notes Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ love of baseball and sports in general. “I heard he got to throw out a first pitch at a Rockies’ game when he moved to Denver,” said King. “I’m sure it was a big thrill for him.” He adds, “He’s somebody who loves God, who’s intent in his love for God and for the Blessed Virgin, but at the same time he doesn’t appear ‘religious.’ He’s a very natural guy; he can mix it up with anybody.”
King recalls the archbishop-designate as not “cutting me any slack” as a confessor and spiritual director. “Right is right and wrong is wrong and José Gomez knows it and there isn’t a deviation,” said King. “There’s no fuzziness or ambiguity.” He adds, “In our confusing world, we need a pastor like that and that’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about him coming.”
    King, his wife and eight children (now nine) were among those who traveled to Denver for Bishop Gomez’ episcopal ordination. “And the first thing I told him after he became a bishop,” said King, “was that I was praying for him to become Archbishop Flores’ successor, because I thought he’d be an excellent choice for an archbishop.”
    King had an inkling, the night before the San Antonio appointment was announced, that his prayer was about to be answered, when a TV station came to his home to do an interview regarding Bishop Gomez.
    “He is a priest for all the archdiocese,” said King. “He’s an archbishop for all of us. And where his genius will be is to continue on with the work of Archbishop Flores to empower lay people, to help lay people grow in doctrinal formation and spiritual direction. … José Gomez is going to help us with that in spades!”

Al Notzon

    Al Notzon, executive director for the Alamo Area Council of Governments and former city councilman, is a parishioner at Our Lady of Grace who has known Archbishop-Designate Gomez for over 10 years. He served as lector for Masses during the archbishop-designate’s time here and remembers enjoying the opportunity to chat with him before the services.
    “Both Msgr. Garcia and Father Gomez had a real good sense of humor,” he recalls, “so it was nice to be able to share some light moments with him.” He noted, “He was very approachable, very spiritual.” Notzon and his wife were among those attending the archbishop-designate’s episcopal ordination in Denver. “The cross-section of people that were there for the ordination was phenomenal,” he said, noting Archbishop-Designate Gomez is very family-oriented.
    The Notzons were thrilled to learn of the San Antonio appointment. “I know my wife was praying that he’d get selected and was ecstatic when he was,” said Notzon. “I know when Archbishop Flores got here, I got a real feeling of a pastor. And I get the same feeling from Bishop Gomez.”
    Notzon remarked that the archbishop-designate’s credentials (a background in accounting and management plus a doctorate) are impressive and feels his comments at the Dec. 29 press conference were “right on target.” He was also impressed with Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ willingness “to talk to people and see what the issues are and then take the reins.” It gave me a feeling of confidence, of somebody who really is going to make us a good leader.”

Deacon Bill Wagner

    Deacon Bill Wagner, religious education director at St. Bartholomew the Apostle Parish in Katy, knew Archbishop-Designate Gomez during his days assisting at their suburban Houston parish. Working out of the Opus Dei prelature house in Houston, the archbishop-designate would come to St. Bartholomew several days a week, primarily to help minister to their rapidly expanding Hispanic community.
    “In fact, we’re a little over 50 percent Hispanic at this point in time,” said Wagner. Archbishop-Designate Gomez’ duties included confessions, Masses, counseling and working with the Hispanic community in other ways.
    And Wagner remembers a good portion of Father Gomez’ time in those years being spent traveling back and forth between Houston and San Antonio. “He was doing double duty,” quipped Wagner.
Describing him as extremely well-educated, Wagner noted, “But you’ll never know it by the way he conducts himself. He is a very humble man.” He adds, “The people of the San Antonio Archdiocese are extremely blessed, because you have a man who is going to truly be a father to his people.” He describes the incoming archbishop as “a tremendously spiritual man,” but with a sense of humor evident by “the twinkle in his eye” when he says something.” (Wagner himself spent time in the San Antonio Archdiocese in the past, attending Assumption Seminary and graduating from St. Mary’s University.)
    The last time Wagner saw his old friend was when Bishop Gomez returned from Denver for the 25th anniversary of Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza’s installation as bishop. “I kind of acted like a little child that hadn’t seen his father in a long time,” said Wagner, “and I jumped in the middle of people that were surrounding him and started talking to him.” Later, he e-mailed the bishop his apologies. “Don’t worry about it. It was great,” came back the reply.
    “When I found out that Archbishop Flores was retiring, the first name that popped into my head was Bishop Gomez,” said Wagner. “I think he’s going to be a fantastic leader. … you can talk with him; he listens to you. He just has a heart for you.”

Irma Gonzales

    Irma Gonzales, director of Hispanic ministries at St. Bartholomew the Apostle Parish in Katy, worked with Archbishop-Designate Gomez in his Hispanic ministry there.
    Her first memory of him that came to mind was of a time when she was having problems with her son and called Father Gomez for advice and his making time for her that same day. “He took time for everyone in the community,” she said.
    She remembers him as always enjoying a good joke and relates he was like a member of the family. “He was never judgmental or preachy,” she said. “He didn’t have to be — his whole life and actions spoke louder than words.” Whenever she would mention a problem with a ministry to him, he would immediately act on what needed to be done, she recalled.
    Gonzales remarked that he would never ask for a donation. “I always had to insist,” she said. “He would say, ‘Use it for the people.’ ” She noted the parishioners’ great love for him, due to his always making himself available to them and being ready to listen and help.
    “He treated us like his own family,” she said. “We had a hard time calling him ‘bishop.’ We still call him Father Gomez.”