Bishop Jaime Soto and Bishop Emeritus William K. Weigand are now in Rome with 31 other bishops, auxiliary bishops and retired bishops from California, Nevada and Hawaii (Region XI) for the visit “ad limina apostolorum” -- to the threshold of the apostles.
The bishops met with Pope Francis for more than two-and-a-half hours Jan. 27. The bishops spoke with Pope Francis about topics including youth and young adult ministry; Marian devotion; the clerical sexual abuse crisis; marriage and family life; migration; how to be a good bishop; and political divisions within the United States and how some of that divisive rhetoric is seen within the church as well.
For more on today's visit with Pope Francis, read these stories from Angelus News: https://angelusnews.com/news/vatican/pope-u-s-bishops-talk-about-political-polarization-infecting-the-church/# and https://angelusnews.com/local/la-catholics/bishops-begin-ad-limina-visit-with-prayers-for-strength-renewal/.
See below to watch a video summary from Catholic News Service of today's "ad limina" visit events:
An "ad limina" visit is a papal meeting required for every diocesan bishop in the world to provide an update on the state of one's diocese. The trip to Rome, made together with all the bishops from a country or region, also serves as a pilgrimage to "the threshold of the apostles," giving the bishops, who are successors of the apostles, the opportunity to pray at the tomb of St. Peter and St. Paul. "Ad limina" visits typically take place every five years. Because of the many visits from bishops from countries and continents around the world, the previous visit from the California bishops took place in April 2012.
The bishops brought their prayers and the prayers of their people to the tomb of St. Peter on Jan. 27, asking God to strengthen and renew them in their faith. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles led the bishops in prayer as the principal celebrant and homilist at Mass in the grotto of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Mass was the first formal appointment of the bishops’ "ad limina" visit. Their Mass in St. Peter’s preceded their meeting with Pope Francis and marked the beginning of a week of prayer in the major basilicas of Rome and meetings with Vatican officials to discuss the status of their dioceses.
In photo above, Pope Francis meets with bishops from California, Hawaii and Nevada during their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican Jan. 27. The bishops were making their "ad limina" visits to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials. CNS photo/Vatican Media.