Age: 43
Hometown: Puebla, Mexico
Home parish: St. Dominic Savio Church, Bellflower
First parish assignment: Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Northridge

"If the Catholic Church is a “field hospital,” as Pope Francis said it should be, parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Northridge are getting a priest who has been to its intensive care unit. Filiberto Cortez was born in Puebla, Mexico, but moved with his family to the Downey area when he was 11. The “culture shock” of life in a new country made the adjustment a difficult one, and Cortez eventually drifted from his family’s traditional Catholic faith while trying to keep up the image of being a “tough guy.”..."