(The following biographies of Bishop Juan Esposito-Garcia and Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala were compiled by The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.)

Bishop Juan Esposito-Garcia

Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito-Garcia was ordained to the priesthood for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington on June 14, 2008. He was born January 10, 1974, in San Luis, Argentina. After obtaining a law degree at the Catholic University of Cuyo in San Luis, Argentina, he came to the United States, where he completed his ecclesiastical studies and earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Moral Theology from Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He holds both a licentiate and a Doctorate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Bishop Esposito’s assignments in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington have included positions as parochial vicar at the Shrine of St. Jude in Rockville, Maryland, at St. Mark the Evangelist in Hyattsville, Maryland, and at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland, and as pro tem parish administrator at Ascension Catholic Church in Bowie, Maryland. He also was adjunct professor of canon law and assistant spiritual director at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.

Bishop Esposito also served in archdiocesan roles in the Metropolitan Tribunal, on the Seminary Admission Committee, as an instructor for the Marriage Preparation Program and as a member of the Committee for the Archdiocesan Synod. He has served since 2018 as an official in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. He speaks English, Spanish and Italian. He is thought to be the first native of Argentina named to be a bishop in the United States.

He was named a Chaplain of His Holiness, with the title of monsignor, in 2020.

On Dec. 19, 2022, Pope Francis named then-Msgr. Juan Esposito-Garcia as an auxiliary bishop of Washington. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, ordained Bishop Esposito as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on Feb. 21, 2023 during a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala

Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala is believed to be the first bishop for the United States who was born in El Salvador. He was ordained to the priesthood for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington on May 29, 2004. He was born August 14, 1970, in Chalatenango, El Salvador. He migrated to the United States in 1990.

Bishop Menjivar attended St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Florida, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. He attended the North American College in Rome and obtained a master’s degree in Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (“Angelicum”) in 2002. He pursued licentiate studies at the Pontifical Scalabrinian Institute for Pastoral Theology for Human Mobility in Rome before his ordination.

Bishop Menjivar’s assignments in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington have included posts as parochial vicar at Mother Seton in Germantown, Maryland, at St. Bartholomew in Bethesda, Maryland, at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. and as pastor of Our Lady Queen of the Americas in Washington, D.C. Since 2017, he has served as pastor of St. Mary’s in Landover Hills. He speaks English, Spanish, and Italian.

He serves as dean of Middle Prince George’s County deanery, is a member of the Priest Personnel Board, and is a member of the Archdiocesan Child Protection Advisory Board.

During his ministry, he has actively supported workers and promoted social justice for immigrants.

On Dec. 19, 2022, Pope Francis named then-Father Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as an auxiliary bishop of Washington. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, ordained Bishop Menjivar as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on Feb. 21, 2023 during a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.