In 1995, the congregation of the region signed a petition to instate Bishop Serapion, at that time a General Bishop who had assisted the Pope during his visits to them, to be their Diocesan Bishop. Pope Shenouda III called upon Bishop Serapion to be the Bishop of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii on November 14, 1995 in the Coptic Patriarchate in Cairo. Bishop Serapion arrived in Los Angeles on December 23, 1995, and was installed upon the throne by six bishops, in the presence of numerous priests, hundreds of deacons, and a multitude of the congregation.[2]