CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / ORANGE COUNTY

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a new auxiliary bishop to help lead Orange County’s Roman Catholic diocese, church officials announced Monday.

Rev. Cirilo Flores, 60, of St. Norbert’s Church in Orange will help shepherd 1.2 million parishioners by making parish visits and overseeing confirmations, among other duties, said the diocese’s Most Rev. Bishop Tod D. Brown. Flores fills the post vacated by Bishop Jaime Soto, appointed coadjutor bishop of Sacramento last fall.

Smaller dioceses have a single bishop, but Orange County’s large and diverse population requires two auxiliary bishops, Brown said, noting: “We aren’t able to be in three places at the same time.”

Flores, a Spanish-speaking native of Corona, graduated from Stanford University Law School and practiced law before entering seminary in 1986. He has held positions at parishes in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, La Habra and Newport Beach. He will be ordained March 19 at St. Columban Church in Garden Grove.