Following ancient church tradition and greeted by the applause of family and friends, Bishops Juan R. Esposito-Garcia and Evelio Menjivar-Ayala were ordained to the Order of Bishops Feb. 21 as auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Washington during a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
Hundreds of people — including families of the new bishops who traveled from other countries, Catholics from across the archdiocese, representatives of other faiths, and civic leaders — filled the cathedral to attend the more than two-hour bilingual liturgy where the new bishops promised to “proclaim with fidelity and constancy the Gospel of Jesus Christ” and to “always be kind and sympathetic to the poor, immigrants and with all those in need.”
“A bishop seeks to reconcile sinners especially those who may often be thought of as outside of the embrace of the church,” Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said during the Mass. “Above all, a bishop draws people to Christ in the Eucharist — there you must preach and inspire people to long for the Lord who is present to us in Word and in Sacrament.”
Cardinal Gregory was the principal consecrator of the new bishops and the main celebrant of the Mass. Co-consecrators were Washington’s auxiliary bishops Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, who will be installed next month as the bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, La.; and Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr.
“The church in the Archdiocese of Washington rejoices with you on this joyful day for you and for all of us,” Cardinal Gregory told the new bishops.
Their backgrounds
Bishop Esposito, 49, most recently served as an official in the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican. Bishop Menjivar, 52, is currently pastor of St. Mary Church in Landover Hills, Md. Pope Francis appointed the two Washington priests as auxiliary bishops for the archdiocese Dec. 19.
Bishop Esposito was born Jan. 10, 1974, in San Luis, Argentina. He earned a licentiate in canon law and a doctorate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington. He was ordained to the priesthood June 14, 2008, and was named a monsignor in 2020.
“Juan, you have spent years studying the law — both civil and canonical. Your recent service to the Holy See has provided you with a clear perspective of the importance of balancing and applying justice and mercy in the care of Christ’s people,” Cardinal Gregory told the new bishop during the Mass. “Your priestly heart has been shaped and formed as you helped Pope Francis to find, to identify and to select praiseworthy candidates for the episcopacy. Now, based upon your history, you must begin to practice those very same virtues within this local church.”
Bishop 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 St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and earned a master’s degree in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood May 29, 2004.
He is believed to be the first Salvadoran to be named a U.S. bishop. Washington is home to one of the largest Salvadoran communities in the U.S.
The cardinal’s words
“Evelio, you became a manual laborer as you adapted to your new home in the United States of America … You know very well the countless gifts that our immigrant brothers and sisters continue to bring to our nation as hard workers in many different occupations,” Cardinal Gregory told Bishop Menjivar. “Jesus was known as a common laborer… He never lost that understanding of the dignity of hard work and neither must you. People will be more inclined to listen to and to believe you when they know that you understand the struggles and the trials that they themselves endure.”
Cardinal Gregory told Bishops Esposito and Menjivar that they must “constantly comfort and encourage all the faithful of the Church to deepen their love for Christ.”
“A bishop’s heart must be open to everyone — the young, the old, the sick, the immigrant, but most especially the poor,” the cardinal said. “Like Christ Jesus himself, we must strive to welcome all with gentleness of spirit and love.”
The cardinal also outlined three obligations of a bishop: to govern in such a way as to “bring God’s people together in safety and in the sure hope of living within a community of love;” to teach the faith focusing “on Christ and invite our people to come to know and love him through our teaching;” and to sanctify the faithful “when we pray with them, when we celebrate the sacraments with them, and when we bless them in those countless moments of great joy and deep sorrow.”
The Mass
Among the clergy at the Mass were Bishop Michael F. Burbidge; Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, the archbishop emeritus of Washington who retired in 2018; Boston Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley; El Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez; Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; more than 20 bishops and archbishops and nearly 200 priests.
The Mass was livestreamed and more than 470 people watched from across the country and as far away as Uganda, Argentina, El Salvador and Honduras.
Expressing thanks to the families of the new bishops and those following the Mass online, Cardinal Gregory said, “I offer a word of profound gratitude (to them) for helping you to discover and to love Christ Jesus. In truth, today would never have dawned if you had not first found faith within your homes and around your family tables.”
Family members of the new bishops served as lectors and gift bearers at the Mass.
Prior to the episcopal ordinations, the congregation invoked the intercession of the Holy Spirit and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., read the individual papal mandates in which Pope Francis appointed his “beloved sons” Bishops Esposito and Menjivar as auxiliary bishops of Washington.
The new bishops “would be close collaborators of Cardinal Gregory,” Archbishop Pierre said prior to reading the letters from Pope Francis, and added that “there is a special joy today for the members of this local church.”
The ordination rite
When asked to give their consent to the appointment of their new auxiliary bishops, the faithful in St. Matthew’s Cathedral responded with a long and hearty ovation. The new bishops then processed through the cathedral, showing their papal mandates to those assembled there.
Prior to the rite of ordination, Cardinal Gregory asked the bishops-elect if they would “care for God’s holy people and guide them on the path of salvation with a father’s love.” Bishop Esposito and Bishop Menjivar promised that they would do so.
The episcopal ordinations of the new bishops included prayers, chanting of the Litany of Supplication, the laying on of hands and anointing with chrism.
“Grant, O Father, knower of all hearts, that these your servants whom you have chosen for the episcopate may nourish your holy flock and may without reproach exercise before you the High Priesthood, serving you night and day; that they may unceasingly cause your face to shine upon us and offer the gifts of your holy Church,” Cardinal Gregory prayed.
As part of their episcopal ordinations, Bishops Esposito and Menjivar received the symbols of their office — the Book of the Gospels, which represents their responsibility to preach “with all patience and sound teaching;” a ring, signifying their fidelity to the church; a miter that represents the “unfading crown of glory” they will seek by serving Christ; and crozier (pastoral staff) representing their role as spiritual shepherds.
After Communion, the new bishops walked through the cathedral, holding their shepherd’s staffs and blessing their families, friends and the members of the Washington community who came to celebrate their new auxiliary bishops.
The new bishops
Speaking at the end of Mass in English, Spanish and Italian, Bishop Esposito referred to Pope Francis’s remarks during his September 2015 visit to the U.S. The pope, in a meeting with U.S. bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, said he would spiritually be at the side of the bishops as they comfort the lonely, lead the lost, console the broken-hearted, teach the faith or offer forgiveness.
“They are a beautiful, profound and detailed description of the pastoral ministry of every bishop and, indeed, of every priest. They describe a life and ministry consecrated, dedicated, entirely to serve others: to serve the People of God and, in so doing, to serve Christ and his church,” Bishop Esposito said. “With these thoughts in mind and with a very humble heart, I express my deepest gratitude to the Holy Father and to Cardinal Gregory for this new opportunity to continue to serve everyone in our beautiful Archdiocese of Washington.”
In his English and Spanish remarks at the end of Mass, Bishop Menjivar also recalled the words of Pope Francis during a Holy Thursday 2014 liturgy in which the pope said a priest is anointed to baptize, confirm, heal, sanctify, bless, comfort and evangelize the faithful.
“The beautiful celebration of the Holy Eucharist, which we have celebrated has been the most eloquent way of giving thanks to the Lord for all the good He has done for me, for us, my family and for our local and universal church,” the new bishop said. “I am very conscious of my poverty and unworthiness. At the same time, I am conscious that this call and this anointing is not about me. It is about you. It is about others.”
Bishop Menjivar also thanked Pope Francis “for calling me to this beautiful ministry;” Cardinal Gregory “for your trust and affection, for accepting me as your collaborator;” and Archbishop Pierre “for all the work that he does for the good of the Church as Apostolic Nuncio in the United States.”
Szczepanowski is managing editor of Washington’s Catholic Standard.
