When I was pursuing a licentiate degree in Rome, I studied with the Scalabrinians, who specialize in the Theology of Human Mobility. All of Sacred Scripture – and all of human history, actually – is a story of the movement of peoples. I am a part of that story as well, having been born in poverty in a small village in the mountainous region of El Salvador before my family was forced to move because of the outbreak of deadly violence, and then I later came here to the United States.
The Archdiocese of Washington has been my home now since the early 1990s (with a few years also spent in Miami and Rome), and throughout these more than three decades, I have witnessed and experienced, and been the beneficiary of, a lot of good. Having been called by Pope Leo in this Easter season to go become Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia, I want to share some of that good with you – and some of the good that is happening still, even amidst the pain and hardship endured by people in recent times, as I have recounted in these monthly columns.
First and foremost among this blessed good is that this is where my vocation to the priesthood came to fruition, serving initially as a parochial vicar in parishes in Maryland and the District before becoming a parish pastor and then bishop. I praise God too for those early years before my seminary formation and ordination when I first arrived in this area, barely able to communicate in English, having no formal education, and working in humble jobs, including janitorial work, construction, and painting.
Near the top of the great blessings that the Lord sent my way during those years – and continuing up to the present day – are the wonderful and good people I have met and who helped me along the way, as well as those who helped me by letting me help others, such as serving as youth minister at my parish in Hyattsville, which also sponsored me for a green card (permanent residence) and strengthened my vocation to enter the seminary and become a priest.
Among these many good women and men, I include you who are members of, and participate in, our parishes and schools. You who vibrantly live your faith, who love the Lord and our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, who selflessly give of yourselves even when you have needs yourself, who proclaim the Gospel in your lives and walk in public processions with our brothers and sisters in celebration of our Catholic faith and for justice and peace, who participate in our festivals and pilgrimages, who realize and shout “Viva Cristo Rey,” and who have given so much to me simply by allowing me to share my faith with you.
Know also, my brothers and sisters in the Hispanic community, that your lively faith is noticed by others. A gentleman who primarily attends the English-language Mass and has been involved in our annual Walk with Mary recently remarked to me that he saw the photos of our procession through the streets on Palm Sunday and wished there were more of that in the part of our archdiocesan family that speaks English. Yes, by your faith, you inspire others.
Another incredible good we have seen are the huge number of catechumens and candidates who entered the Church this year at the Easter Vigil here and across the country. More than 1,700 people joined our Catholic family of faith in the Archdiocese of Washington, and other dioceses showed substantial increases as well, including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles receiving nearly 8,600 people into the Church.
We can rightly attribute this new zeal in people’s hearts to the action of the Holy Spirit, yet the Lord often works through human agency, such as the everyday good men and women I have mentioned, as well as the wonderful priests, deacons, religious, and lay people who serve in our parishes, schools, ministries, and offices whom I have come to know over the years.
There are so many wonderful ministries and programs in the parishes of the Archdiocese of Washington that help so many people to grow in the faith and also receive practical assistance in their lives, as I was helped. In addition to the rise in people entering the Church, we have also been the beneficiaries of booming crops of new priests being ordained in recent years. Of course, you already know how special and exceptional the priests are here; I certainly have heard many of you say how much you love our priests, and rightly so.
But you should also know how much of this good is because of you, because of your prayers, your friendship and encouragement, and your financial support through parish collections or the Annual Catholic Services Appeal. If you have not participated yet, I invite and encourage you to do so, even if only a little bit, because in doing so, you are helping make possible the seminary formation of new priests and the many ministries of the Church, and you are helping not only the people next to you in the pews, but your own family and yourself. Furthermore, as Pope Leo points out, the Lord has a special love for those who help others, and He will not be outdone in generously rewarding them (Dilexi Te, 33, 45).
My dear friends, my dear brothers and sisters in this archdiocesan Church of Washington, the title of Pope Leo’s apostolic exhortation on love for the poor, which is derived from its opening words, is a quote of the Lord from the Book of Revelation: “I have loved you” (Dilexi Te, 1). These words I make my own to you. I have loved my time and my life here, and I have loved you. Although I will depart in a few weeks for West Virginia as a stranger from the strange land of Washington, D.C. – and I will have a few more words to say to you before then – my love and a portion of my heart will always remain here with you. May God’s manifold blessings be upon you all.
(On May 1, 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Evelio Menjivar, an auxiliary bishop of Washington since 2023, to become the new bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia. Bishop Menjivar will be installed as the bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which includes the entire state of West Virginia, on July 2 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling.)
