Meet your #newLAbishops
Birth Date: October 6, 1956
Birth Place: Beirut, Lebanon
Seminary: St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, California
Ordination: June 1, 1996
Diocese: Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Bishop Bahhuth was born in Beirut, Lebanon, but immigrated to the U.S. at 20 to study chemical engineering at the University of Missouri. After receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi, he taught chemical engineering at the University of Wyoming before moving in 1984 to Los Angeles, where he sought out other business opportunities including the purchase of two franchise ventures. During these years Bishop Bahhuth’s faith grew in strength and devotion.
He entered St. John’s Seminary in 1991 as he discerned the call to the priesthood. He was ordained in 1996 and served in several parishes in the Archdiocese, including St. Finbar in Burbank (2002-2013) and St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Santa Clarita (2013-2015). He was named Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia by Archbishop Gomez in 2015, a post in which he served until 2020. He has served as Pastor at Holy Family since 2021. Archbishop Gomez appointed him as Episcopal Vicar for the San Fernando Pastoral Region on September 26, 2023 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Good morning, I am Msgr. Albert Bahhuth.
My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for what He has done in my life. When I was lost, Jesus, my Good Shepherd, came looking for me and brought me back to His flock, the Church. He nurtured me, fed me at His table of the Word and the Eucharist and helped me to recognize that He was calling me to serve Him as a priest. He gave me the courage to say yes to that vocation. And now, He has called me to the office of Bishop, a successor to the Apostles. Blessed be God, for He has favored me despite my unworthiness.
Words cannot express my gratitude to Pope Francis for entrusting me with such a responsibility. I am blessed to be called a Bishop during this transitional time in the life of the Church, where our Holy Father is calling us to a synodal approach to governing and caring for the people of God, to go out to the peripheries to bring home our brothers and sisters who are searching for the truth and for purpose and meaning to their lives. I promise to fulfill my duties and responsibilities to the best of my abilities while remaining faithful to the guidance of our Holy Father.
I am grateful to Archbishop Gomez for giving me the opportunity to collaborate with him in shepherding the people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For guiding and mentoring me when I was the Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General. His prayerfulness, steadfast faith, servant leadership, calmness and patience will help me tremendously in discharging my responsibilities as one of his Auxiliary Bishops. Thank you, Archbishop.
Who I am today will not have been possible without my family. They provided me with a loving home, where the Gospel values were lived daily. They taught me to trust God, to be strong and not afraid to take chances, they supported me while pursuing my hopes and dreams. They were always there for me, and I know they will always be there for me in the future.
When you tell people you want to become a priest, a frequent response is: “Don’t you want to have your own family?” That is true, as a priest, we won’t get to have own family, but God blesses us with many more families. People that love you, pray for you, support you, form you and help you to grow and mature as a missionary disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am talking about the family of my brother priests, the family of my home parish and all the other parishes I served at and that’s seven families, my Archdiocesan (Catholic) Center family, the seminary family. I give thanks and praise to God for each and every one of them. Thank you for accompanying me on my journey. I will always carry you in my heart and keep you in my prayers.
This is a time of gratitude and of giving thanks. Words seem inadequate to express my feelings of appreciation for your love, trust, support and prayers. Please continue sending them my way because I am going to need them now more than ever. I promise you to be a shepherd in the image and likeness of our true Shepherd Jesus Christ for the praise and glory of God.
Thank you and God bless.
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Mi corazón rebosa de gratitud a Dios por llamarme al Oficio de Obispo a pesar de mi indignidad. Me bendijo con una familia amorosa y personas maravillosas que me acompañaron en mi viaje y con sus oraciones y apoyo me prepararon para decir Sí a esta gran responsabilidad.
Estoy agradecido al Santo Padre, el Papa Francisco, por confiar en mí para cumplir con los deberes y responsabilidades de este oficio como sucesor de los Apóstoles. Al Arzobispo Gomez por guiarme durante mis años de servicio como Moderador de la Curia y Vicario General y por recomendarme a colaborar con él en el pastoreo de la gente de nuestra Arquidiócesis como su obispo auxiliar.
Las palabras parecen inadecuadas para expresar mis sentimientos de gratitud. Les prometo con la ayuda del Espíritu Santo y con sus oraciones y apoyo ser un pastor a la imagen y semejanza de nuestro Buen Pastor Jesucristo.
Gracias, que Dios los bendiga.
“I wanted to help the poor one day to break that poverty cycle. But when we die, we don’t take anything with us. If I can bring one person to Jesus Christ, then that person will receive eternal life.”
– Msgr. Albert Bahhuth
For God to make Msgr. Albert Bahhuth a priest, let alone a bishop, there have been many miracles. Those miracles have spanned from Lebanon to Missouri to Mississippi, and finally to Los Angeles. There has even been a Subway sandwich franchise involved.
LA’s four newest auxiliary bishops underlined Church unity as a top priority in remarks at an introductory press conference Tuesday morning.
