Pope Francis has appointed two priests of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Msgr. Juan R. Esposito-Garcia and Father Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, as new auxiliary bishops for the archdiocese.
Bishop-designate Esposito-Garcia, who turns 49 on Jan. 10, is currently serving as an official in the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican. Bishop-designate Menjivar-Ayala, 52, is currently pastor of St. Mary Parish in Landover Hills, Maryland.
Their appointments were announced Dec. 19 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United States.
“Today our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has blessed the Archdiocese of Washington with the appointment of Bishop-Elect Juan Esposito-Garcia and Bishop-Elect Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as our new Auxiliary Bishops,” Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, said in a statement after the appointment of the new bishops was announced. “They have been selected from a zealous and generous local presbyterate, and now they are appointed as bishops to serve all of Christ’s flock in this local Church. They represent the goodness of all of our people, and both will dedicate themselves tirelessly to the promotion of the Gospel and the mission of Christ in serving with me and all of our clergy and faithful.”
Bishop-elect Esposito was born Jan. 10, 1974, in San Louis, Argentina. He attended St. Michael Seminary in Argentina (1998-2000) and Catholic University in Cuyo, Argentina (2003). He earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Moral Theology (2008) from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He also earned a Licentiate in Canon Law (2011) and a Doctorate in Canon Law (2016) from The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 2008. In 2021, he was named a monsignor.
Bishop-elect Esposito’s assignments in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington include: parochial vicar at Shrine of St. Jude in Rockville, Maryland (2008-2010); parochial vicar at St. Mark the Evangelist in Hyattsville, Maryland (2010-2012); parochial vicar at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland (2013); and administrator at Ascension Catholic Church in Bowie, Maryland (2013-2014). He was also adjunct professor of canon law and adjunct spiritual director at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland (2014-2017).
From 2012-2018, he served in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Washington as a judge (2012-2018) and then as adjunct judicial vicar and judicial vicar (2014-2017). Bishop-elect Esposito has also served as a member of the Seminary Admission Committee (2012-2017); as an instructor for the Archdiocesan Marriage Preparation Program (2010-2015); and as a member of the Committee for the Archdiocesan Synod (2013-2014). Since 2018, he has served as an official in the Dicastery for Bishops in Vatican City. Bishop-elect Esposito speaks English, Spanish, and Italian.
Bishop-elect Menjivar was born Aug. 14, 1970, in Chalatenango, El Salvador. He came to the United States with his brother as a teenager, because of violence and unrest in his home country, while his family remained in El Salvador. He is now a U.S. citizen. He attended Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Florida, from 1995 to 1999 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 Saint Thomas Aquinas University "Angelicum" in 2002. He pursued licentiate studies at the Pontifical Scalabrinian Institute for Pastoral Theology for Human Mobility, in Rome (2002-2003).He was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 2004.
Bishop-elect Menjivar’s assignments in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington include: parochial vicar at Mother Seton parish in Germantown, Maryland (2004-2008); parochial vicar at St. Bartholomew parish in Bethesda, Maryland (2008); parochial vicar at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. (2013-2014); and administrator at Our Lady Queen of the Americas parish in Washington, D.C. (2014-2017). Since 2017, he has served as pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Landover Hills, Maryland. Bishop-elect Menjivar speaks English, Spanish, and Italian.
Cardinal Gregory will host a press conference at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center at 10 a.m. on Dec. 19 to welcome the new bishops.
Livestream link: https://youtu.be/nITH16nU0tA
