New Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala will be joining two special Masses in March for the Salvadoran and Filipino Catholic communities sponsored by the Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

After being ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on Feb. 21, Bishop Menjivar is believed to have become the first bishop for the United States who was born in El Salvador. On Friday March 24 at 7 p.m., he will concelebrate a Mass at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington to commemorate the Feast of St. Oscar Romero, the martyred Salvadoran archbishop and outspoken advocate for the poor who was assassinated while celebrating Mass at a hospital chapel in 1980. Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory will be the principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass for the Feast of St. Oscar Romero. Bishop Oswaldo Estefano Escobar of the Diocese of Chalatenango, El Salvador, will be a concelebrant. The Shrine of the Sacred Heart is located at 3211 Sacred Heart Way, N.W., Washington, D.C.

On Sunday March 26 at 3 p.m., Bishop Menjivar will celebrate a Mass at St. Columba Church in Oxon Hill, Maryland, to commemorate the Feast of St. Pedro Calungsod, a young Catholic missionary from the Philippines who was martyred in Guam in 1672. St. Pedro Calungsod is a patron saint for the Philippines and for youth. The special Mass will be preceded by the praying of the rosary at 2:30 and will be followed by a 4 p.m. procession and then at 4:30 p.m. by fellowship and a video presentation on the saint’s life. St. Columba Church is located at 7804 Livingston Road in Oxon Hill, Maryland.