The evening before the installation of Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as the 10th bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, a Solemn Vespers was celebrated for him on July 1, 2026 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling, presided by his predecessor as bishop there, Bishop Mark E. Brennan.
Other bishops participating in the Solemn Vespers included Archbishop Gabriele C. Caccia, the new apostolic nuncio to the United States; Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez, the retired auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, El Salvador; Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori; Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Virginia; and Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., a retired auxiliary bishop of Washington.
The Solemn Vespers featured music led by the Cathedral of St. Joseph Schola, accompanied by organists and musicians playing the flute and handbells.
On May 1, Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Brennan from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and appointed Bishop Menjivar as his successor. Bishop Brennan, who had led that diocese since 2019, served as the apostolic administrator of Wheeling-Charleston until July 1, when he became the bishop emeritus there. Bishop Menjivar had served as an auxiliary bishop of Washington since 2023, when he became the nation’s first Salvadoran bishop.
In his homily at the vespers service, Bishop Brennan said, “It is good to be here, to pray for our new bishop, and to pray for the one leaving, and also to pray for one another.”
He reflected on that evening’s Scripture reading from James 1:22, 25, noting how the apostle was encouraging people to be “doers of the word” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bishop Brennan offered a personal welcome to “Bishop Evelio, my former seminarian, brother priest in Washington, brother bishop and soon to take over the shepherding of this diocese…”
Then-Father Brennan was the director of priestly vocations for the Archdiocese of Washington when Evelio Menjivar, a Salvadoran immigrant who had been working in construction, sought to become a seminarian. They both served as priests of the Archdiocese of Washington after Father Menjivar was ordained to the priesthood in 2004. Bishop Brennan was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Baltimore in 2017 and then was appointed to lead the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston two years later.
Bishop Brennan encouraged his successor to “be a doer” of Christ’s word, leaning on daily prayer, the sacraments, the writings of the Church fathers and doctors of the Church, and the lives of the saints. Those things, he said, will help Bishop Menjivar “hear the word and be a doer of it… by honoring God in speech and action and by loving your people.”
West Virginia’s bishop emeritus said St. Junípero Serra – the 18th century Franciscan missionary in California who established missions throughout the future state, walking to them on foot – can be seen as a role model for being a good pastoral leader. “He served God’s people by preaching the Gospel and won many people to Christ, and he loved all of them,” Bishop Brennan said of that saint, whose July 1 feast day coincided with the vespers service.
In his homily, the bishop emeritus also encouraged lay people to put Christ’s Gospel into action. He pointed to the example of a small parish, St. Thomas in the town of Gassaway, West Virginia, where this past Easter Vigil, 13 people entered the Catholic Church, receiving the Sacraments of Initiation. In talking with those new members of the Catholic Church, he learned that they had been drawn to the faith for different reasons. A man there told him that he liked the consistency of Catholic teaching. A woman said she wanted to receive the Eucharist after being inspired by Christ’s words in Scripture. A boy said he liked the people there, because they were friendly.
Bishop Brennan noted that the parish also operates a food pantry that feeds 900 people every month in a county that doesn’t have a grocery store. In addition, St. Thomas Parish has a ministry for pregnant women who need help. The bishop said there is a sign at the entranceway to that outreach that invites people, if they have a prayer intention, to write it down, and “we’ll pray for it.”
“Faith joined to charity. Lay people, that’s a good model for you, to engage in the good works that underly your faith and express your faith,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Bishop Brennan said, “When a shepherd and flock work together and listen to and act on Christ’s word, their unity and goodwill will draw down God’s blessings on them and whatever they do. May that be so for you, Bishop Evelio, and the flock you will shepherd.”
(A Catholic Standard website article on Bishop Menjivar’s installation as the bishop of Wheeling-Charleston is forthcoming.)
