Pope Leo XIV has appointed a priest who was formerly an illegal immigrant from El Salvador as bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese that encompasses the entire state of West Virginia.
Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, who was appointed as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington in 2023, was elevated as bishop of Wheeling-Charleston last week, according to a Friday press release from the Archdiocese of Washington.
According to a 2023 profile in the Catholic Standard, Menjivar-Ayala was born in 1970 to peasant parents in Chalatenango, El Salvador, nine years before civil war broke out in the country. His family was fired upon as they fled their home, and he made three attempts to flee the violence by entering the U.S. illegally when he was a teenager.
After being deported, Menjivar-Ayala finally succeeded in 1990 when he and his brother reached California hidden in the trunk of a car. He worked odd jobs while learning English and studying for a GED before he discerned a call to the priesthood, entering the St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Florida, in 1995.
He became a U.S. citizen in 2006, two years after he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Washington by the since-defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
Menjivar-Ayala has accused the Trump administration of mistreating illegal immigrants, penning an op-ed last April for National Catholic Register that accused the federal government of pursuing “a ‘shock and awe’ campaign of aggressive threats and highly visible operations of questionable legality that go far beyond mere immigration ‘enforcement.'”
Cardinal Robert McElroy, who serves as Archbishop of Washington, described Menjivar-Ayala’s departure for West Virginia as “a great loss for the Archdiocese” in a statement last Friday.
“Bishop Menjivar’s pastoral love and zeal, as well as his passion for justice and sensitive care for the Hispanic and immigrant communities of our Archdiocese have planted seeds of grace that will yield a harvest here for decades to come,” he added.
The press release from the archdiocese also noted that Father Robert Boxie III, who had been serving as a Catholic chaplain at Howard University, was appointed as a new auxiliary bishop of Washington last week. Boxie has been critical of the Trump administration’s stance against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, claiming, “Diversity is of God,” according to The Washington Post.
Greg Erlandson, who formerly served as director of the Catholic News Service, told The Washington Post that he believes the elevations of Boxie and Menjivar-Ayala “are no accident.”
Both men are “well-qualified,” Erlandson said, “But at this time of tension caused by Trump Administration policies regarding immigration and DEI, Pope Leo has quietly affirmed the Church’s position concerning both immigrants and racial justice.”
“Pope Leo’s message is clear: Shepherds don’t run from the challenges to the Gospel. They don’t hide from controversies either,” he added.
An X post from The Washington Post announcing Menjivar-Ayala’s appointment received 3 million impressions as of Monday. A sizable number of comments were negative and accused the pope of making a political point with his appointment.
“This was not a dreamer. Evelio originally came here from El Salvador illegally as a grown man in 1990,” wrote BlazeTV host Steve Deace, who described Menjivar-Ayala’s case as a sympathetic one “from a bygone era when most of America thought we could look the other way at such things given the overall prosperous state of things.”
Deace said the fallout of the immigration crisis in the U.S. has become much more dire since Menjivar-Ayala became an American citizen 20 years ago, noting that illegal immigration and the national debt have since skyrocketed, the median age of the first-time homebuyer has risen to 40 years old and young people are increasingly foregoing family formation.
“Barely 2% of West Virginia is Hispanic. Barely 1% of the state speaks Spanish. This is a purely political appointment by a woke pope trying to shoehorn his open borders agenda into a state Trump has won by 40 points three times. There’s nothing prophetic here, but it’s all shamefully political,” Deace continued, adding that the consequences of the pope’s apparent immigration views will have no personal effect on him behind the secure borders of Vatican City.
Menjivar-Ayala’s appointment comes amid political tension between President Donald Trump and the U.S-born pope, who have clashed over flashpoint issues such as immigration and the war in Iran.
Echoing his predecessor, Pope Leo XIV has been critical of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Last November, he told reporters that the topic calls for “deep reflection” about how immigrants in detention are treated, noting that “many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now.”
“How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not? I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening,” the pope said at the time, adding that “the spiritual rights of people who have been detained should also be considered.”
During a homily while on tour in Africa last month, the pope pronounced woe on “those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
Trump dismissed the pope in a Truth Social post last month as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” and told reporters at the time that while he’s “sure the pope is a great guy,” he fails to understand the geopolitical situation.
“The pope has to understand that this is the real world,” Trump said.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]
