Auxiliary Bishops

Bishop Roy Edward Campbell, Jr.

Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr., was born on November 19, 1947 to Roy Edward Campbell, Sr. and Julia Ann (Chesley) Campbell, and has been a life-long member of the Archdiocese of Washington. He was baptized at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Indian Head, MD, received his First Holy Communion in 1956 at Saint Cyprian Church in Southeast Washington and the Sacrament of Confirmation in 1959 at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church in Northwest Washington.

He attended Bruce Elementary Public School and for seventh and eighth grade, he attended Shrine of the Sacred Heart School in Washington. He is a 1965 graduate of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington. Bishop Campbell majored in Zoology, with minors in Anthropology and Chemistry at Howard University, before leaving to work at Suburban Trust Company as a teller in order to continue to pay his way to complete his studies. Campbell earned a graduate degree in retail banking from the Consumer Bankers Association’s Graduate School of Retail Bank Management at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, and worked in the retail banking industry in the Washington-Baltimore area until taking early retirement in 2002.

Throughout his life, Bishop Campbell was an active Catholic both in parishes and the broader Washington-area community, serving as a lector and usher at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, as a member on the Pastoral and Finance Councils. He also had an interest at a young age in a vocation to the priesthood.

“Upon graduating from the eighth grade, Capuchin Friars invited me to join other boys for part of the summer at their seminary, outside Pittsburgh. I enjoyed my stay with them, but was not ready to commit to attending seminary high school. However, the crucifix that I purchased there at age 13 still hangs on the wall of my bedroom,” he said.

A turning point for Bishop Campbell occurred in December of 1995, while leaving work in Baltimore. He passed a person on the street begging for food, and he took him to get something to eat. “What he said to me I have never forgotten, ‘You’re a Christian, aren’t you?’ Campbell recalled. “My answer to him is just as memorable, ‘I try to be.’ I saw Jesus in that man, as clearly as I saw the man himself. That encounter started my reflecting on my relationship with Jesus in a very different way.”

In 1999, Campbell entered the archdiocese’s permanent diaconate program in the Class of 2004’s Aspirant Year. During that time, he assisted in planning and serving in liturgies, tutoring grade school children through St. Gabriel parish’s Petworth Youth Program, volunteered at Bethlehem House with adults who had physical and learning disabilities, and at the Joseph P. Kennedy Institute with children who had emotional and learning disabilities.

In January 2003, Campbell entered Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary to begin his priestly formation, and completed his seminary studies at in 2007, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained into the priesthood on May 26, 2007 by Cardinal Donald Wuerl.

Bishop Campbell’s first parish assignment was as parochial vicar at Saint Augustine parish in Washington 2007 to 2008, while also taking care of the sacramental needs of Immaculate Conception parish in Washington for six months. He was appointed pastor of Assumption Catholic Church in southeast Washington in 2008, and in 2010 was appointed to his current assignment, as pastor of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Largo.

Bishop Campbell was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on April 21, 2017 by Cardinal Wuerl at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

In addition to being the pastor of Saint Joseph’s, he has served as dean of Middle Prince George’s County, and is a member of the Clergy Personnel Board, Vocations Board and College of Consultors.

Bishop Campbell has three brothers, Roscoe William, Rodney Jerome and Robert, and two sisters, Cynthia and Darlene and his mother, Elizabeth (Barbour) Campbell. Rev. Campbell’s father, Mr. Roy Edward Campbell, Sr., passed away in 2007. Rev. Campbell is the proud uncle of eight nieces, five nephews, six grandnephews and two grandnieces.

Coat of Arms of Bishop Campbell

The greater portion of Bishop Campbell’s coat of arms is derived from the arms of Saint Edward the Confessor, the bishop’s second baptismal patron, with the “difference” that the original “cross fleuretty” is replaced with a “cross bottony” quartered in gold and silver, taken from the arms of the Archdiocese of Washington.

The upper third of the design, called the chief, is red and displays on the observer’s left a lion rampant combatant, and on the observer’s right a tower, both in gold.

The tower is from the arms of His Eminence, Donald Cardinal Wuerl, who ordained Bishop Campbell as a priest and as a bishop.

In the center of the chief, on a green field, is a modern abstract sculpture of the Holy Family in gold, to show that all of God’s people are called to be integral members of the holy life of a family, of the family of the Church, and of the family of mankind.

Bishop Campbell’s motto is, “Do whatever he tells you,” the Blessed Virgin Mary’s statement to the helpers at the wedding feast at Cana, which is a powerful direction to all Christians that Jesus, as the Christ, guides our lives by all that He teaches and all that is maintained by His Holy Church.

The achievement is completed with the external ornaments of a coat of arms of a bishop: a gold processional cross that extends above and below the shield, and a pontifical hat, called a galero, with six tassels in three rows on either side of the shield, all in green.

Videos of Bishop Roy E. Campbell

Bishop Juan R. Esposito-Garcia

Bishop Juan R. Esposito-Garcia

Bishop Juan Esposito-Garcia was ordained to the priesthood for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington on June 14, 2008. He was born January 10, 1974, in San Luis, Argentina. After obtaining a law degree at the Catholic University of Cuyo in San Luis, Argentina, he came to the United States, where he completed his ecclesiastical studies and earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Moral Theology from Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He holds both a licentiate and a Doctorate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Bishop Esposito’s assignments in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington have included positions as parochial vicar at the Shrine of St. Jude in Rockville, Maryland, at St. Mark the Evangelist in Hyattsville, Maryland, and at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland, and as pro tem parish administrator at Ascension Catholic Church in Bowie, Maryland. He also was adjunct professor of canon law and assistant spiritual director at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.

Bishop Esposito also served in Archdiocesan roles in the Metropolitan Tribunal, on the Seminary Admission Committee, as an instructor for the Marriage Preparation Program and as a member of the Committee for the Archdiocesan Synod. He has served since 2018 as an official in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops. He speaks English, Spanish and Italian. He is thought to be the first native of Argentina named to be a bishop in the United States.

He was named a Chaplain of His Holiness, with the title of monsignor, in 2020.

Bishop Esposito was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on February 21, 2023 by Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

Coat of Arms of Bishop Esposito

The sun in splendor represents Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, the “sun of justice” with “healing in its wings” (Malachi 3: 20). In heraldry, the straight and wavy rays represent heat and light. The golden sun set against a blue field, with other symbols in silver (white), allude to the flag of Argentina, Bishop Esposito’s native country.

The dove ascending is a symbol of peace; it takes flight in the light of the “sun of justice.” The dove signified to Noah that the flood of God’s wrath had subsided (Genesis 8: 11). The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, was present at the Baptism of the Lord (Matthew 3: 16, etc.). The dove’s silver (white) feathers, its red legs and feet, and the green hillock at the base of the shield, show the colors of the flag of Italy, the land of the Bishop’s ancestors. Yet the red, white, and blue also represent the Bishop’s adopted country.

The crescent is a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary, shown here in the same position as on the arms of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, the local church for which the bishop was ordained a Priest, and of which he is now Auxiliary Bishop.

The fleur de lis is associated with Saint Joseph, who is the spouse of the Blessed Virgin, the foster father of Jesus, and the patron saint and protector of the Church.

The motto, “Beati pacifici,” is from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Saint Matthew: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5: 9).

Videos of Bishop Juan R. Esposito-Garcia

Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala

Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala

Bishop Evelio Menjivar was born August 14, 1970, in Chalatenango, El Salvador. He migrated to the United States in 1990.

Bishop Menjivar attended St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Florida, receiving a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He attended the North American College in Rome and obtained a master’s degree in theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (“Angelicum”) in 2002. He pursued licentiate studies at the Pontifical Scalabrinian Institute for Pastoral Theology for Human Mobility in Rome before his ordination. He was ordained to the priesthood for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington on May 29, 2004.

Bishop Menjivar’s assignments in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington have included posts as parochial vicar at Mother Seton Catholic Church in Germantown; St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Bethesda; the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington; and as administrator of Our Lady Queen of the Americas Catholic Church in Washington. From 2017 to 2023, he served as pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Landover Hills. He speaks English, Spanish and Italian.

He previously served as dean of Middle Prince George’s County Deanery and was also a member of the Archdiocesan Child Protection Advisory Board. In 2023, Cardinal Wilton Gregory named him Vicar General of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. He currently is a member of the Priest Personnel Board, Administrative Board, the College of Consultors, and the Priest Council. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Catholic Conference and Catholic Charities. He is also the Episcopal Moderator of the Catholic Ecclesial Movements.

During his ministry, he has actively supported workers and promoted social justice for immigrants.

Bishop Menjivar was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on February 21, 2023, by Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

Coat of Arms of Bishop Menjivar

The blue field symbolizes the Blessed Virgin Mary, patroness of the United States. It also points to the color of the flag of El Salvador, the land where bishop Menjivar-Ayala was born. The horizontal stripe in silver (white) symbolizes the desire for peace of all nations.

The star symbolizes the gift of faith that leads us to Jesus Christ, the true light of the world. It also symbolizes Mary, often called the Star of the New Evangelization. Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, has been instrumental in the evangelization of the Americas, in the past as in the present.

The Cross represents Christ and the mystery of our redemption.

The scallop shell and the pilgrim’s staff symbolize our baptism and the journey of faith of a pilgrim Church. They also represent the personal journey of Bishop Menjivar as an immigrant in the United States.

The motto, “Ibat cum illis,” “He walked with them,” is taken from the Gospel of Saint Luke chapter 24 verse 15. While two disciples of Jesus were walking downcast and conversing about what has happened in Jerusalem, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them.

In virtue of his pastoral ministry as Auxiliary Bishop, he has received from the Lord the special call to go out to the peripheries to encounter those who walk without hope, and to walk with them in the journey of faith that leads to a personal encounter with the Risen Lord. As it happened with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, this journey must open our hearts to the virtue of hospitality which finds its maximum expression at the celebration of the Eucharist and when we welcome the strangers amongst us.

Videos of Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala

Retired Auxiliary Bishop

Bishop Francisco González, S.F.

Bishop Francisco González, S.F. was born on May 22, 1939 in Arcos de Jalon (Soria), Spain. One of five children, he entered the Seminario

Misional de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in 1951. He took his final vows in the Congregation of the Sons of the Holy Family in 1960.

He studied theology and received an M.A. in comparative international education from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC in 1967. On May 1, 1964, he was ordained a priest for the Sons of the Holy Family by The Most Reverend John J. Russell in Richmond, VA.

A priest for almost fifty years, Bishop González has served as a teacher and chaplain in high schools and has held a number of parish assignments in the Archdiocese of Washington, New Mexico and Colorado. His religious community elected him on three occasions as a delegate to their General Chapters. He has also served as rector of Holy Family Seminary in Silver Spring, MD and was Vice Provincial Superior for the Sons of the Holy Family in the United States until December 28, 2001 when he was named a bishop by Pope John Paul II, the first member of the Sons of the Holy Family to receive such appointment. He was ordained as a bishop in Washington, DC on February 11, 2002.

Bishop González has served as the spiritual advisor to the Hispanic Charismatic Prayer Groups and the Cursillo Movement in the Archdiocese of Washington. From 1987-1989, he was the national chaplain for Cursillo. In 1992, he was named Coordinator of the Hispanic Family Life Office for the Archdiocese of Washington. He also has served as Interim Secretary for Parish Life and Worship. Since 1997, when Cardinal James A. Hickey, then-Archbishop of Washington, appointed him Episcopal Vicar for Hispanic Catholics, Bishop González has served as the primary liaison between the Archbishop of Washington and the region’s large Hispanic community. He was honored with The James Cardinal Hickey Award by the Spanish Catholic Center in 2012 for his dedication and service to the Washington area community. He has chaired the Immigration Task Force for the Maryland Catholic Conference.

Bishop González is an internationally recognized speaker, leading retreats in the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, Mexico and Colombia. He has been interviewed by local and national media outlets, and since 1993, has written a weekly award-winning column for El Pregonero newspaper.

Bishop González has a brother and sister who are in religious life in Spain.