%1

“This an epic moment in the life of the church,” exuded Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, the most populous U.S. Catholic archdiocese. The prelate was speaking of his projected successor to lead 4.18 million Catholics in heavily Hispanic southern California.

Pope Benedict XVI on April 6 named Mexican-born Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio, Texas, to replace Mahony, who will reach the retirement age of 75 in February and step down in 2011.

Days after being elected pope, Pope Benedict XVI referred to one of Europe’s patron saints, Benedict of Nursia, as he explained his choice of papal name to thousands of pilgrims massed in St. Peter’s Square. “He represents a fundamental point of reference for the unity of Europe and a strong reminder of the unrenounceable Chris tian roots of its culture and civilization,” the new pontiff said on that sunny April morning in 2005.