Stockton Diocese has a new bishop; what Modesto area pastors have to say about him

Referring to himself as a “home boy,” a Central Valley-born Catholic priest was announced Tuesday as the new bishop of the Diocese of Stockton.

Pope Francis appointed Dos Palos native Myron Cotta to succeed Bishop Stephen Blaire as leader of the diocese, which includes the greater Modesto region. Cotta will be installed on March 15, just six days before his 65th birthday.

He has served as Vicar General in the Diocese of Fresno and most recently as Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of Sacramento. Blaire introduced Cotta during a press conference in Stockton on Tuesday morning.

“It is humbling, and an honor, to be called by God to this ministry of service to the church, in particular to the Diocese of Stockton,” Cotta said.

Having served from Sacramento to Fresno, he noted that there are “common threads” issues for bishops throughout the Central Valley, including immigration.

“Being a home boy in the valley and kind of understanding this agricultural area and growing up with agriculture – that was the business of my folks, my family, was dairy and farming – and so there’s that connection with that aspect of the valley,” he said. “And again the common needs ... concerns with immigration and now also with the environment and all these things that are ongoing for all of us,” he said.

Born of Portuguese heritage in Merced County, Cotta attended St. John’s College Seminary in Camarillo and was ordained in Fresno in 1987. He served as priest in Atwater and Gustine as well as in Laton, south of Fresno.

At his home parish, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dos Palos, people were thrilled with the news of his appointment, according to longtime parish manager Eloise Wallace. His family – including his mother – still live in the community, said Wallace, who has known Cotta for decades.

“We know him, we love him, Dos Palos is very proud of him,” she said. “He’s a wonderful guy ... a gentle, gentle man. He epitomizes what a bishop should be.”

The Rev. Patrick Walker at Sacred Heart in Turlock knows Cotta back to their time at the seminary.

“I’m very happy,” Walker said. “I found him to be very positive, very serious minded and also (to have) extra good focus. He was always focused on the job at hand, he didn’t veer to the right or left, he followed through, he makes things happen.”

Those “are the kinds of qualities we need” as bishop, Walker said, adding that Bishop Blaire has steered the diocese to a positive place as he leaves.

The Rev. Mark Wagner of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Modesto said he met Cotta while serving as pastor at Sacred Heart in Turlock. “He would come for the Portuguese events and Masses and festas (Portuguese celebrations),” Wagner said. “It’s nice to know he’s a home-grown bishop who knows our local customs and traditions and piety – and who speaks three languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese).”

While he doesn’t know Cotta personally, The Rev. Ramon Bejarano at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Modesto was equally pleased. “Several of us (fellow priests) felt that he was the best choice for our diocese. I was very, very happy this morning when I heard that he was the one chosen. We were right, he was the best choice.”

Bejarano agreed that Cotto is inheriting a diocese now in good shape after a variety of difficulties, including bankruptcy. “After everything our diocese has gone through and all the different issues ... all those things are finally behind,” he said. “Bishop Blair has been a wonderful leader, he has been a blessing for our diocese.”

Cotta will be the sixth bishop for the Stockton diocese, which leads more than 300,000 Catholics in churches throughout Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mono, and Alpine counties.

Blaire resigned in December when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, according to a press release, but will continue to oversee the diocese leading up to Cotta’s March installation.

“Let us keep each other in prayer as we continue to seek God’s will in all that we do,” Cotta said Tuesday. “Together let us move forward in building up the kingdom of God within the heart of the Central Valley, here, in the Diocese of Stockton.”

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Stockton Diocese has a new bishop; what Modesto area pastors have to say about him."