A priest familiar to many LA Catholics has been asked to help oversee the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ most populous pastoral region.
Archbishop José H. Gomez announced on March 1 that he had named Msgr. Terrance Fleming episcopal vicar for the Our Lady of the Angels (OLA) Pastoral Region following the February retirement of Auxiliary Bishop Edward Clark.
As episcopal vicar, Msgr. Fleming will oversee the region’s administrative duties on a temporary basis. The OLA pastoral region is the most populous and diverse of the archdiocese’s five pastoral regions, covering downtown, Central Los Angeles, and the westside of LA. It has 77 parishes, 12 high schools, 48 elementary schools, two hospitals, and four parochial missions.
A priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 1973, Msgr. Fleming will continue to serve as the executive director of the archdiocese’s Mission Office, which coordinates local efforts to support the charity organizations under the direction of the Holy Father, including the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA).
Msgr. Fleming retired last year as pastor of St. Brendan Church after 16 years at the Hancock Park parish. During his nearly five decades as a priest, Msgr. Fleming has served in a variety of pastoral and administrative roles, including as a theology professor at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo (1982-1989), pastor of St. Vibiana’s Cathedral (1990-1994), and vicar general of the archdiocese (1997-2002).
He also currently serves as dean for Deanery 14 and is on the archdiocese’s priest personnel board.
“I want to thank Archbishop José Gomez for his great confidence in me,” Msgr. Fleming told Angelus. “Having been a priest for over 30 years in the region, I hope to share my experience and wisdom with all of those living in the region. Please pray for me, but especially for the priests and people of the Region of Our Lady of the Angels.”
