![\"Vatican](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.latimes.com\/media\/thumbnails\/story\/2010-04\/53143416-07180042.jpg?w=780\" "\\"Vatican")
<\/img><\/a>There was a memorial Mass for a deceased parishioner, a spiritual encounter for couples, a women’s prayer gathering and a session for new parents — all conducted in Spanish. People arrived en masse as though headed to a sporting event, undeterred by a church bulletin noting five recent homicides in the vicinity.<\/br>
<\/br>Word was just circulating that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles would soon have a new leader — Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio, Mexican-born, like most of these parishioners — replacing Cardinal Roger Mahony, set to retire next year after a quarter-century guiding his hometown see.
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<\/br>A pervasive sense of pride, even elation, greeted the news that a compatriot would become the heir apparent.
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"Of course it makes you feel good. He’s one of us; he understands us," said Juan Bramusco, 60, originally from Mexico’s Zacatecas state.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/br>Many agreed that such an appointment was long overdue in an archdiocese that is now 70% Latino. But Humberto Magallanes, another volunteer, voiced a common refrain.
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"The new bishop is going to have some big shoes to fill," said Magallanes, 29, a construction worker. "Cardinal Rogelio Mahony has fought for immigrants as much as anyone."<\/p>\n