Washington.- Pope Leo XIV appointed this Friday the Salvadoran Evelio Menjívar Ayala, who lived as an undocumented in the United States after arriving in 1990 and has been critical of the immigration policies of President Donald Trump, as the new bishop of the diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, in West Virginia.
Menjívar Ayala, 56 years old, was appointed to the position according to a Vatican statement and has served until now as auxiliary bishop in Washington.
The decision of Leo XIV comes after Bishop Mark Edward Brennan left office after submitting his resignation due to age, in accordance with canon law, which sets the retirement age for bishops at 75 years.
The Salvadoran has recounted in interviews with Catholic media such as the Catholic Standard how he migrated to the United States in 1990 due to poverty, amid the internal armed conflict in his country, which left more than 75,000 dead between 1980 and 1992.
In 2022 he was appointed auxiliary bishop
Menjívar Ayala settled in Washington, where he began his path to the priesthood and studied Philosophy and Theology in religious institutions, until he was ordained a priest in 2004.
The new bishop has been described by US media as critical of the immigration policies implemented during the Donald Trump Administration, particularly those aimed at tightening deportations and border control.
According to these reports, he has questioned the approach that associates irregular migration with criminality.
During his 20 years of religious service, he has developed most of his ministry in Hispanic and migrant communities in the American capital and its surroundings, where he has served as a parish priest and trainer, in addition to assuming diocesan responsibilities.
In 2022, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Washington, until his recent appointment as titular bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, in a state of 1.8 million inhabitants where about 6% of the population is Catholic.
The appointment of Leo XIV comes two weeks after he was criticized by Trump, who called him “weak” for questioning the US military’s performance in Iran.
