Roger Mahony was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 9, 1932. He entered the ministry in 1950, serving as an associate pastor in Detroit, Lansing, and St. Paul, Minnesota before becoming a priest in 1965 at age 28. He served at St
Patrick's Parish in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City for four years before becoming pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola parish in the Parkchester section of the Bronx. There he implemented programs to help young people stay in school and off drugs.
In 1973 he became pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Yonkers where he instituted a program to help young people become drug free and stay in school. In 1974 he became pastor of St. Francis Xavier parish in Brookyn where he implemented a program to transform the lives of the poor through education and political action.
In 1981 he became pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Bay Ridge where his emphasis was on helping children learn good work habits and good citizenship through better schools and security. In 1986 he became pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Manhattan where he implemented a program to transform the lives of homeless men into productive members of society through education and job training.
In 1988 he became pastor of San Antonio de Padua Church on Staten Island where his emphasis was on helping troubled children become responsible adults by teaching them the value of hard work and good citizenship. In 1992 Mahony became archbishop of Los Angeles, California after being named by Pope John Paul II as his personal choice to be Archbishop of Los Angeles upon his retirement from Washington, D.C..
With respect to Holy Communion, it is up to the communicant to decide whether they are in a state of grace and worthy to receive the Eucharist. Each one of us makes that decision.Roger Mahony
The war on terrorism has made national security a legitimate concern, and a rising deficit, changes brought on by globalization and even the price of oil have thrown the nation's economic health into question.Roger Mahony
