Gerald Eugene Wilkerson

Gerald Eugene Wilkerson (born October 21, 1939) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1997 to 2015.


Gerald Eugene Wilkerson
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Los Angeles
Titular Bishop of Vincennes
ArchdioceseLos Angeles
AppointedNovember 5, in 1997
InstalledJanuary 21, 1998
Term endedJuly 21, 2015
Other post(s)Titular Bishop of Vincennes
Orders
OrdinationJanuary 5, 1965
by James Francis McIntyre
ConsecrationJanuary 21, 1998
by Roger Mahony, Michael Patrick Driscoll, and Joseph Martin Sartoris
Personal details
Born (1939-10-21) October 21, 1939
Des Moines, Iowa
MottoWalk in Integrity of Heart
Styles of
Gerald Eugene Wilkerson
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Biography

Early life

A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Gerald Wilkerson grew up in Long Beach, California. He attended St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California.[1]

Priesthood

Wilkerson was ordained a priest on January 5, 1965, by Cardinal James McIntyre.[2]

After his ordination, Wilkerson served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in La Habra, California; St. Michael Parish in Los Angeles and American Martyrs Parish in Manhattan Beach, California. He then was posted for 15 years at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Encino, California as administrator and then pastor.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

On November 5, 1997, Pope John Paul II appointed Wilkerson as the Titular Bishop of Vincennes and auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles. He was installed and consecrated on January 21, 1998. Cardinal Roger Mahony was his principal consecrator, while Bishop Michael Driscoll and Bishop Joseph M. Sartoris were his principal co-consecrators.[2]

Wilkerson led the archdiocese's San Fernando Pastoral Region with 54 parishes, 12 high schools, two hospitals, and five missions.[1]

Retirement

On July 21, 2015, Wilkerson sent his letter of retirement to Pope Francis, have reached the retirement age for bishops.[3]

On July 20, 2018, Wilkerson was appointed apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Monterey in California after the death of Bishop Richard John Garcia. On December 19, 2018, Wilkerson announced that the Diocese was hiring an outside law firm to examine its personal records for any credible allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.[4]

Wilkerson left the apostolic administrator position on January 29, 2019 after the appointment of Bishop Daniel E Garcia as the new bishop of Monterey[2][5][6]

See also

References

  1. "ADLA - Bishop Wilkerson". old.la-archdiocese.org. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  2. "Bishop Gerald Eugene Wilkerson [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  3. http://www.la-archdiocese.org/Pages/2015-0721_newauxiliaries.aspx
  4. "Diocese of Monterey conducting priest personnel file review". Monterey Herald. 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  5. "Pope appoints new bishop in Monterey, California (USA) - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  6. Morris, Emily (2018-07-24). "Retired LA auxiliary named administrator of Monterey diocese". California Catholic Daily. Retrieved 2021-12-12.

Episcopal succession

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