Ordination of Bishop Flores
a 'historic moment'
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published Online Only November 30, 2006
Detroit – Calling the occasion "historic," Cardinal Adam Maida ordained Bishop Daniel E. Flores as Detroit's newest auxiliary bishop Nov. 29.
"This is a great and historic moment for our Church of Detroit, and especially for the ever-growing Hispanic population of Michigan," Cardinal Maida said in his homily.
Bishop Flores, 45, became not only Michigan's first Hispanic bishop, but also the youngest bishop in the United States.
About 900 people filled the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit for the ceremony. Cardinal Maida acknowledged local Hispanic ministry efforts, but added "now, today, we will have a bishop who knows their culture firsthand and will truly be able to speak out of the same experience."
Hispanics make up about 10 percent of the nearly 1.3 million Catholics in the archdiocese. In both English and Spanish, Bishop Flores expressed thanks to God: "All gifts I have received in life, including the gift of this day, are contained in the primordial gift of Christ to the world."
He also had a message for seminarians: "I say: Love Christ, serve His people, and in the gift of yourself you will find the Lord
Afterward, his mother, Lydia Flores, 74, expressed pride and happiness. "But, at the same time, I have mixed emotions, because I know that when I leave here tomorrow, he will be staying behind," she said.
Born in Palacio, Texas, Bishop Flores was rector of the cathedral in Corpus Christi when it was announced Oct. 29 that Pope Benedict XVI had raised him to the episcopate.
Ordained in 1988, he was named a monsignor in 1995. He served the Corpus Christi Diocese in various positions and taught seminarians in Houston.
He has a doctorate from the Angelicum in Rome.
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