Leo Thomas Maher

[3] On January 27, 1962, Maher was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Santa Rosa by Pope John XXIII.

[4] He received his episcopal consecration on April 5, 1962, from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, with Bishops Hugh Donohoe and Merlin Guilfoyle serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.

[2] He presided over the second diocesan synod from 1973 to 1976, revising the statutes and guidelines of the diocese to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

[6] He ended the official relationship between the diocese and the University of San Diego, establishing the school as a separate corporation.

[7] That same year, he suspended Father Victor Salandini, a San Diego priest and ally of labor organizer César Chávez, for wearing a serape with the black eagle of the United Farm Workers instead of proper vestments and for using corn tortillas instead of sacramental bread during his Masses.

[10] She eventually won the election, acknowledging (along with her opponent) that Maher's action helped her win by creating voter sympathy and publicizing her candidacy.

[11] Pope John Paul II accepted Maher's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of San Diego on July 10, 1990.