SANTA FE, N.M.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles attended the installation mass for Archbishop John C. Wester in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on June 4. The afternoon mass was held at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe.
Archbishop Wester was formerly the bishop of the Catholic Church’s Diocese of Salt Lake City, where he established close friendships with Mormon leaders and clergy of other faiths in Utah. Joining Elder Ballard at the mass was Bishop Scott B. Hayashi of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.
Archbishop Wester becomes the 12th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. He was appointed as bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City in January 2007. Elder Ballard said Archbishop Wester would win the support and the hearts of the people in New Mexico, just as he did in Salt Lake City.
Many leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were honored for their humanitarian efforts by Catholic Community Services while Bishop Wester served in Utah, including Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Barbara, who spent the evening with Bishop Wester at an awards dinner in November.
At an interfaith gathering at the LDS institute of religion adjacent to Utah Valley University in September of 2012, Bishop Wester said Mormons and Catholics share the “mutual desire to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as we give witness to Jesus Christ as His disciples.”
To read more about the installation mass, visit the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s website, archdiocesesantafe.org.
