The Catholic diocese of San Diego announced Tuesday that funeral services will be Sept. 17 for Bishop Cirilo Flores, who died Saturday of cancer.
It was also announced that Steven Callahan will serve as the administrator of the diocese until a new bishop is appointed.
Flores, who was 66, succeeded Robert Brom as San Diego's bishop last September, becoming the diocese's first Hispanic bishop. He suffered a stroke in his office nearly five months ago and was undergoing treatment when it was discovered he had prostate cancer.
A native of Corona, Flores graduated from Loyola Marymount University and earned a law degree at Stanford University before attending seminary school.
He spent many years as a priest in Orange County after being ordained in 1991. He was named an auxiliary bishop in 2009 and a coadjutor bishop in 2012.
According to the diocese, Flores' body will be received next Tuesday at Saint Joseph Cathedral, 1535 Third Ave., San Diego, where visitation and a vigil will be held.
The following day, the funeral Mass will be said at noon at Saint Therese of Carmel Church, 4355 Del Mar Trails Road, San Diego. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, 4470 Hilltop Drive, San Diego.
Callahan, who has served as the spokesman for the diocese in place of Flores, was unanimously selected to become the interim administrator by the six-member College of Consultors.
"A diocesan administrator assumes governance of the diocese until a new bishop is appointed," said Callahan, 57. "His task is to maintain the status quo of the diocese."
Callahan, a native of Aurora, Colorado, was ordained as a priest in 1987 and currently serves as the vicar general of the diocese. He is also the pastor at Saint Brigid parish in Pacific Beach.
The San Diego diocese, established in 1936, consists of 98 parishes, 14 missions and 90 schools and preschools in San Diego and Imperial counties.
The diocese requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Bishop Flores Memorial Fund for Catholic Education, Diocese of San Diego, P.O. Box 85728, San Diego, California, 92186, or to Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego, 349 Cedar St., San Diego, 92101.
