SAN DIEGO (AP) — The head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego has died.

The diocese says Bishop Cirilo Flores died Saturday in Mission Valley after a battle of cancer. He was 66.

U-T San Diego reports (http://bit.ly/Wx2Sqy ) that Flores had been ailing since April 17, when he suffered a stroke. While under treatment, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Flores became the Diocese of San Diego’s first Hispanic bishop nearly a year ago. The son of a Mexican immigrant, he began his administration by reaching out to homeless migrant workers.

A native of Corona, he received a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University and a law degree from Stanford University.

He practiced law for a decade before being ordained in 1991 as a priest in the Diocese of Orange.

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