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.”..."

Age: 45
Hometown: Los Angeles
Home parish: St. Paul Church, Los Angeles
Parish assignment: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Downey

"That Daniel Garcia is becoming a priest — soon to call Downey’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church his home parish — is really no surprise to anyone who’s known him. As early as sixth grade at St. Paul Elementary School, people saw that he was called to something, one teacher telling him, “Danny, I see Jesus in you.”..."

Age: 35
Hometown: Salinas
Home parish: St. Mark’s UCSB Newman Center, Goleta
Parish assignment: St. Philip Neri Church, Lynwood

"There’s no need to tell Louie Reyes that one person, one priest, can change the course of someone’s life. He knows that. He’s lived it. It happened while Reyes was attending UC Santa Barbara, a university well-known, as he said, as “a party school.” And Reyes admitted he took part in what might be described as a somewhat Augustinian existence..."

Age: 31
Hometown: Santa Clarita
Home parish: St. Clare of Assisi Church, Canyon Country
Parish assignment: St. Charles Borromeo Church, North Hollywood

"Though Jonathan Nestico was too young to remember, it is well-known within his family that when he was born, 31 years ago, his grandmother Monique soon after took him to St. Augustine Church in Culver City, where she was the director of religious education, walking with the infant in her arms, presenting him to her workmates as she repeated, “This is my grandson. He’s going to do amazing things.”..."

Age: 58
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Home parish: St. Joan of Arc Church, West LA
First parish assignment: St. John Fisher Church in Rancho Palos Verdes

"In these times of exceptional uncertainty, parishioners of St. John Fisher Church in Rancho Palos Verdes will likely count their blessings they’re being ministered to by Thomas Park, a man who knows firsthand how quickly life can turn, no matter your plans, no matter your age..."

Age: 31
Hometown: Cerritos
Home parish: St. Raphael Korean Catholic Center, Norwalk
Parish assignment: St. Gertrude Church, Bell Gardens

"While Justin Oh, like so many other new priests, looks forward to celebrating Mass, offering the sacrament of reconciliation and the other daily duties of a priest, what really excites him is the “journey” he will take with his parishioners..."

Age: 47
Hometown: San Pedro
Home parish: Holy Trinity Church, San Pedro
First parish assignment: St. Joseph Church, Carpinteria

"Manuel Ramos admitted to being a “little naive” when first entering the seminary, believing that those he would be sharing this journey with came to it armed with the innocence and certainty of “a community of altar servers"..."

Age: 31
Hometown: Pomona/Diamond Bar
Home parish: St. Denis Church, Diamond Bar
First parish assignment: Holy Family Church, Glendale

"Michael Mesa grew up in the Pomona/Diamond Bar area and was raised Catholic, but admittedly was the kind of Catholic who sort of took his faith for granted; the kind who attended Mass every Sunday but did so half asleep..."