Herald Staff Report
(From the issue of 7/3/03)

This week, a friend of the Arlington Diocese will travel to Boston. Bishop Sean Patrick O’Malley was named the archbishop of Boston on July 1 by Pope John Paul II.

In recent years, Bishop O’Malley has traveled to the area several times. He attended the 20th anniversary celebration of the Youth Apostles Institute in 1999, he delivered the meditation at the Diocesan Jubilee Celebration at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax in 2000, and he has continued to encourage and support the growing Hispanic community.

At the Youth Apostles anniversary in 1999 at St. Anthony Church in Falls Church, Bishop O’Malley praised the Youth Apostles for fulfilling the roles for Christians set forth by the Second Vatican Council. "The first role of the laity is to evangelize — to be messengers to society," he said. "Youth Apostles has been a source of blessings for some many people. It has been from God." The bishop praised the life, energy and witness of the Youth Apostles shown in its first 20 years.

"A faithful friend of 30 years, I’ve had the opportunity to observe how God has prepared Bishop Sean to serve His flock," said Dr. Eduardo Azcarate, founder and director of the Youth Apostles Institute. "He has been instrumental in the development and progress of Youth Apostles.

"Bishop O’Malley is unassuming, compassionate, balanced and very holy," Azcarate said. "He will be a blessing for the Boston Archdiocese."

Bishop O’Malley has been a friend to the Azcarate family for 30 years, since his days spent working with the Hispanic community in Washington.

After being ordained to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Washington, Bishop O’Malley earned a doctorate degree in Spanish and Portuguese literature from Catholic University, where he taught from 1969-73.

Bishop O’Malley formally began his ministry to the Hispanic community in 1973 as executive director of Centro Catolico Hispano in the Archdiocese of Washington. He served as director until 1978, when he was appointed episcopal vicar for the Hispanic, Portuguese and Haitian communities and named executive director of the archdiocesan Office of Social Ministry.

He was also instrumental in creating El Pregonero, the weekly Spanish-language Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington, in 1977.

Although Bishop O’Malley is an American of Irish decent, it is said that because he speaks perfect Spanish and is so involved in the community, they easily identify with him and see him as a fellow Hispanic.

Bishop O’Malley was invited to Arlington twice by Father Ovidio Pecharroman, director of the Diocesan Spanish Apostolate, to help with the development of programs for Hispanic youth.

Father Pecharroman has known Bishop O’Malley for more than 30 years. They both worked at the Spanish Center in Washington, D.C.

Bishop O’Malley visited the Spanish Apostolate in Arlington in November 2001, following a day when 125 young Latinos traveled door-to-door in Northern Virginia visiting families and encouraging other young people to participate in the School of Youth Leadership and other activities.

The bishop arrived dressed in the plain brown robe of the Capuchin fathers and shared stories, in perfect Spanish, of his ministry in Washington when the Hispanic Catholic Center was founded, and he praised the work being done by the youths.

"I am really happy to see so many of our young people working so hard to tell our people the word of the Lord," he said.

"Bishop O’Malley will bring to Boston the qualities of conversation, dialogue, simplicity and honesty," said Father Pecharroman. "He speaks many languages and will bring an invitation to peace to an archdiocese which is greatly divided."