Oscar A. Solis


Oscar Azarcón Solís is a Philippine-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and current Bishop of Salt Lake City. Following a 20-month sede vacante, Solís was appointed by Pope Francis on January 10, 2017, and installed on March 7, 2017, after Solís's predecessor, John C. Wester, was appointed as Archbishop of Santa Fe. He was formerly an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Solís is the first Filipino-American to be consecrated a bishop.
He speaks fluent English, Spanish, and Tagalog.

Biography

The son of Antonia Azarcón and Anselmo dela Fuente Solís, Oscar Solís was born in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, on October 13, 1953. He has three sisters and a brother Ronald Solis who is a priest in Hong Kong. He attended grade school at San Jose West Central School in San Jose, Nueva Ecija and high school at Maria Assumpta Minor Seminary in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. He prepared for the priesthood studying philosophy at Christ the King Seminary in Tagaytay City and theology at the Pontifical Royal Seminary of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He also pursued studies in Oriental Religions and Cultures.
Solis was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Cabanatuan on 28 April 1979 in San Jose. Between 1979 and 1984 he held a variety of diocesan posts, including rector of the minor seminary, secretary of the priests senate, school chaplain, and director of vocations. He emigrated to the United States in 1984 and served for four years as parish vicar at the Church of Saint Rocco in Union City, New Jersey, in the Diocese of Newark.
He relocated to Louisiana and was incardinated in the Houma-Thibodaux on 17 June 1992. He held several posts in parishes in that diocese between 1988 and 2003, including rector of St. Joseph Co-Cathedral.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

On 11 December 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular bishop of Urci and Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles. He was consecrated bishop by Cardinal Roger Mahony at the Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels on February 10, 2004. He said at the time that he was familiar with Spanish but he was out of practice with speaking it. In Los Angeles he headed of a council focusing on minority issues as episcopal vicar for ethnic ministry from 2004 to 2009. He chaired and was later a member of the diocese' Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs. He was an organizer of the first National Assembly of Filipino Priests in the U.S. in November 2011. He has held several positions with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop of Salt Lake City

Pope Francis named Solis Bishop of Salt Lake City on January 10, 2017, when the position had been vacant for 20 months. He was installed as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City on March 7, 2017.

Episcopal succession