New look, but still just ‘Father Matt’
New Bishop Elshoff: A new look, but still just ‘Father Matt’
By all appearances, newly ordained Auxiliary Bishop Matthew Elshoff, OFM Cap., is getting a second chance at making a first impression.
It’s not just a title change for someone who went by “Father Matt” as president of St. Francis High School, or “Padre Mateo” at his last assignment, St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church in Watts.
Perhaps the most striking change is his new look.
For 40 years, he dressed in the traditional habit of a Capuchin Franciscan, with a dark brown hooded robe tied at the waist by a white rope, large wooden prayer beads at his side, and sandals on his feet. The introductory press conference for LA’s four new auxiliary bishops in July was the first time most of his friends had seen him in a black clerical shirt and a white collar. He later admitted he had trouble recalling the last time he’d worn dress shoes and socks.