Bishop William K. Weigand presided at a Mass and ceremony Dec. 4 in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament to begin the initial diocesan portion of the beatification process for the late Sacramento Auxiliary Bishop Alphonse Gallegos.

The Diocese of Sacramento is beginning the beatification process for Bishop Gallegos at the request of his religious order, the Augustinian Recollects. It is the first time the diocese has begun the process toward sainthood for any person.

Members of the religious order, Gallegos’ family members and supporters were among those attending the Mass.

Bishop Gallegos lived in the Sacramento area from 1979 until his death in an automobile accident near Yuba City on Oct. 6, 1991. From 1979 to 1981, he served as the first director of the Division of Hispanic Affairs of the California Catholic Conference.

He was ordained an auxiliary bishop to Bishop Francis A. Quinn on Nov. 4, 1981. While auxiliary bishop, he served as vicar general, vicar for the Hispanic Apostolate and vicar for ethnic communities in the diocese. He served at both St. Rose Parish and Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Sacramento.

Bishop Gallegos “cared especially about the poor, the marginalized, and unchurched youth. All these groups had a special place in his pastoral ministry,” said Father James McGuire, a member of the Augustinian Recollect order and associate pastor of St. Benedict Parish in Montebello, Calif.

Father McGuire taught Bishop Gallegos as a seminarian at the Tagaste Monastery in Suffern, N.Y., and while serving as provincial in 1972, appointed Bishop Gallegos as pastor of San Miguel Parish in the Watts area of Los Angeles, where the bishop grew up.

Many people did not know that Bishop Gallegos was born with a severe myopic condition and was nearly sightless, Father McGuire said. Before he entered the seminary, he underwent eye surgery.

“He wanted desperately to be a priest,” Father McGuire said. “When he was a novice master (in Kansas City, Kan.), I saw the way he interacted with people and how they enjoyed being with him. They felt they had a true friend. When I appointed him pastor (of San Miguel), I knew how he could help people through their troubles.”

Father McGuire noted that Bishop Gallegos often spent his summer vacations living with Central Valley farm workers. “He was always concerned about migrants and other people who needed help and didn’t have an advocacy group in their favor,” he said.

The church’s process leading to canonization involves three major steps. First is the declaration of a person’s heroic virtues, after which the church gives him or her the title Venerable.

Second is beatification, after which he or she is called Blessed. The third step is canonization, or declaration of sainthood.

At various steps in the canonization process, evidence of alleged miracles is presented to church authorities. In general, two miracles need to be accepted by the church as having occurred through the intercession of the prospective saint.

During this initial process, a tribunal appointed by Bishop Weigand will examine all aspects of Bishop Gallegos’ life. They will interview witnesses, research his work and review documents and testimonies about his life, virtues and sanctity.

If the tribunal’s findings meet established criteria, the results will be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican for further study in order to determine whether or not to proceed with the cause for canonization, Father McGuire said.

The investigation could be terminated at any point in the process if Bishop Gallegos does not meet the criteria of “heroic virtue,” he said.

“This is the start of a very long process — this could take decades,” Father McGuire said. “If the Lord doesn’t step in and grant two miracles, the process won’t go forward. The Lord will have the last word on this.”

Copyright © 2005 Diocese of Sacramento - All Rights Reserved