He ministered as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Santa Ana, Orange County’s most populous city, blessed with a diverse ethnic church community.

Msgr. Wilbur Davis, pastor of St. Joseph at the time, said Bishop Soto’s arrival was a blessing to him in his own first assignment as a pastor.

“We began together, energized each other and worked collaboratively together,” said Msgr. Davis, current director of the office of vocations for the Diocese of Orange.

Then there was the skill set Bishop Soto brought to his ministry.

“He had good administrative skills, but also is a priest who likes to be off with the people,” Msgr. Davis said. “He’s a prayerful person with a great compassion for people on the margins, whoever they might be.”

Tom Linnert, who has served as co-youth minister with his wife Connie at St. Joseph Parish for the past 28 years, met Bishop Soto when the young priest arrived at the parish.

Whether accompanying youth groups on retreats or volunteering for the “dump tank” booth at the parish fiesta, Linnert said Bishop Soto “walked with everyone.”

“The kids just naturally felt comfortable around him because he’s very approachable, down to earth, able to relate with people of every culture or age. “He’s just as comfortable in jeans and sandals as priestly vestments.”

Msgr. Davis said after leaving his assignment at St. Joseph in 1984, Bishop Soto enrolled at Columbia University’s School of Social Work in New York City.

It was a time in Bishop Soto’s life, Msgr. Davis recalled, when he was able to immerse himself in the arts, spiritually enriched by art, music and literature.

“He’s a reader who reads good stuff, is not afraid of ideas, and found Manhattan with its music and art galleries to be his national park,” Msgr. Davis said.

Bishop Soto also enrolled in business classes, a course of study in which he discovered a mindset that could apply to shepherding people.

“Pastors are brokers trying to create opportunities — to have a vision in which people will trust can change their lives and the energy to make things happen,” Bishop Soto said in an interview with The Herald.

Community organizing

In 1986, community organizers in Orange County picked up a skillful advocate when Bishop Soto was actively involved in the founding of the Orange County Congregations Community Organization.

OCCCO director Regina Martinez said that community organizers quickly recognized they had enlisted a spiritual leader who was “a real and effective voice speaking out for the most marginalized people.”

She said Bishop Soto provided leadership on immigration issues impacting policies on deporting illegal immigrants, “helping us find a moderate path” and supporting hardworking families.

“Bishop Soto clearly loves people and understands their stories,” Martinez said. “He is an incredibly sharp thinker who is able to think through strategies and has the humility to walk directly with people.”

Work with Catholic Charities

In 1986, Bishop Soto was appointed associate director of Catholic Charities of Orange County and also became director of Catholic Charities’ Immigration and Citizenship Services.

Terrie Montminy, executive director of Catholic Charities of Orange County, said Bishop Soto’s dedication to empowering Hispanic laity made him “a natural advocate for those most vulnerable.”

“If you talk to immigrants,” Montminy said, “you find he touches the hearts and minds of people. Poverty to him goes beyond being a financial condition, affecting the spirit of people who have difficulties.”

Montminy added that when Catholic Charities has provided assistance to victims of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, or more recently people who lost homes in fires which devastated Southern California, Bishop Soto “has worked to connect people in a united effort” to provide assistance.

Ministry to youth and young adults

By 1989, Bishop Soto, then 35 and widely recognized for his leadership among Latinos, was appointed Episcopal Vicar for the Hispanic community.

Inspired later by Encuentro 2000, convened by the U.S. bishops to celebrate ethnic diversity within the church, Bishop Soto led the way in organizing a similar event for Hispanic youth and young adults in his role as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Youth and Young Adults.

Olivia Cornejo, Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Orange Diocese, collaborated with Bishop Soto in preparing for the first National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the University of Notre Dame in June 2006.

The “encuentro,” Spanish for “gathering,” was the first national meeting of its kind. Its theme was “Weaving Together for the Future.”

The bishop spoke at the event, noting that the church must help Hispanic youths “escape from the morally ambiguous environment” of U.S. society.

“Bishop Soto knows the potential of youth, and was very much present for the encuentro,” Cornejo said. “It was a national blessing.”

Whether addressing more than 2,000 youths at Encuentro 2006 or working with Hispanic youth statewide in local parish communities, Cornejo said the bishop “reaches out, offering them a solid education, helping them identify with who they are and be proud of it.”

Recalling his message to youth at Encuentro 2006, Bishop Soto said in an interview it is one he continues to deliver today.

“As Catholics, we don’t just receive the sacraments, we are the sacraments in the world,” he said. “It’s important Latinos understand the public nature to our Catholicism, that we bring God’s grace into the world by what we do.”

Juanita Cruz, president of the Orange County Hispanic youth organization, “Asociacion Jovenes Para Cristo,” (Youth for Christ) said that Bishop Soto’s support for youth has also been evident as a celebrant at Masses for the youth association’s retreats and his presence at organization congresses.

“His open mind and open heart have made people feel comfortable and able to trust talking with him,” Cruz said. “He will be a blessing to the Sacramento Diocese with his presence.”

Amin David, president of the Hispanic-rights organization Los Amigos of Orange County, said Bishop Soto was quick to become immersed in a wide range of issues impacting Hispanics upon being appointed auxiliary bishop of Orange in 2000.

David, who is a member of St. Anthony Claret Parish in Anaheim, described Bishop Soto as an effective advocate for Hispanics, “with tremendous emphasis on undocumented immigrants.”

“He welcomed our brothers and sisters who are immigrants into a community of brotherly love,” said David, recalling Bishop Soto officiating at confirmations at St. Anthony Claret and St. Boniface parishes in Anaheim.

“He encouraged the undocumented to know their rights and not give up. It was the sunshine he gave to all of us.”

Tackling taboo topics

Presiding over human sexuality workshops and speaking out on the subject of HIV/AIDS prevention at Masses are activities not commonly associated with priests. But Bishop Soto has done both.

Kathleen Eaton, president and CEO of Birth Choice crisis pregnancy centers in Orange County, who first met the bishop when he began his ministry, has appreciated his support of Teen Integrity abstinence education programs for Catholic school students in grades six through 12.

“Bishop Soto has a heart for teens, no matter what culture they are,” she said. “He’s out there giving a message of hope to children who are the future of our church.”

Eaton was also present when Bishop Soto spoke earlier this year at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ annual Religious Education Congress held in Anaheim. About 500 people attended his workshop on “Human Sexuality and Los Angeles Youth.”

Eaton said the bishop “recognizes that youth want to hear truth.”

“They don’t want repercussions. They want options,” she said.

The Rev. Ty Rose, outreach chaplain for the AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County, said Bishop Soto has been an effective spokesman on AIDS prevention, especially among Hispanics, which make up 52 percent of the county’s AIDS cases but only 33 percent of the population.

Each year on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bishop Soto has presided over a Mass at St. Anne Church in Santa Ana in memory of people who have died of AIDS.

“Bishop Soto brings real passion to the discussion of a disease few are willing to talk about because there is so much stigma associated with it,” Rose said. “But church is where we go for spiritual support.”

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