Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of W. Virginia Bishop Mark Brennan and Appoints Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as Successor
Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, to a diocese in West Virginia. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, who once crossed into this country in the trunk of a car as an undocumented immigrant, is now the Bishop-elect of Wheeling-Charleston. This immigrant from El Salvador, born in 1970, will become the first Salvadoran bishop in the history of the United States. Bishop Menjivar-Ayala currently serves as an auxiliary bishop of Washington. He will replace Bishop Mark Brennan, installed in 2019, who is retiring at age 79, four years past the customary retirement age.
USCCB - Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston; Appoints Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as Successor
Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan, 79, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and has appointed Most Reverend Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, currently auxiliary bishop of Washington, as his successor.
May 1, 2026
WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan, 79, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and has appointed Most Reverend Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, currently auxiliary bishop of Washington, as his successor.
The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is comprised of 24,041 square miles in the State of West Virginia.
Bishop Menjivar-Ayala’s biography :
Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan, 79, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and has appointed Most Reverend Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, currently auxiliary bishop of Washington, as his successor.
May 1, 2026
WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan, 79, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and has appointed Most Reverend Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, currently auxiliary bishop of Washington, as his successor.
The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is comprised of 24,041 square miles in the State of West Virginia.
Bishop Menjivar-Ayala’s biography :
Bishop Evelio Menjivar was born August 14, 1970, in Chalatenango, El Salvador. He migrated to the United States in 1990 and in 2023 became the first Salvadoran bishop in the country.
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 pastor 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, Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services. He is also the Episcopal Moderator of the National Catholic Ecclesial Movements and Member of the USCCB Committee on Communications.
In 2024, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Georgetown University. Throughout his ministry, he has actively supported workers and continues to promote 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.
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.
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 pastor 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, Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services. He is also the Episcopal Moderator of the National Catholic Ecclesial Movements and Member of the USCCB Committee on Communications.
In 2024, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Georgetown University. Throughout his ministry, he has actively supported workers and continues to promote 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.
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.
###USCCB Release
Comments