Bishop Wester, who is chairman-elect of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, said that the church's "Welcoming the Stranger Among Us" doctrine seeks to help immigrants integrate into Catholic parishes and American society.

Bishop Wester also reached out to the LDS Church.

"A wonderful relationship exists between this local church and the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," he said after being introduced to the media. "I understand that there is a wonderful ecumenical and interfaith spirit in this diocese, and I am eager to add to this dialogue even as I benefit from it."

In San Francisco, as vicar for the clergy, the bishop was also responsible for meeting both with victims of clergy abuse and with the offending priests.

"That has taken a lot of energy and a lot of finesse and political acumen," said Msgr. Harry Schlitt of the San Francisco Archdiocese. "And a deep spirituality, which he has."

Bishop Wester said part of his mission as head of the Catholic Church in Utah will be to help encourage more people to become priests and nuns. Parents, too, need to encourage their children, he said, adding that many parents support the vocation in theory but then say "not my son."

He was 13 when he joined the seminary, embarking on the path to becoming a priest. He had been moved, he says, when he saw a priest saying Mass, "bringing Christ to people." It's the best of both worlds, he said of his vocation: "Working with God and working with people."

Last fall, Bishop Wester was given the Person of the Year Award by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. Although the society has its roots in the Catholic Church, it is independent from the church, said executive director Peter Wise. This was the first time the society had given its award — for service and support to people in need — to a bishop.

What impressed the organization, Wise said, was the one-on-one nature of Bishop Wester's work, including the times he has washed the dishes and tidied up the houses of sick and elderly parishioners.

"We chose him because of that roll-up-the-sleeves genuineness, and implied in that is humility," Wise said. "Salt Lake is fortunate to have him."

---

E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com