Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Ramón Bejarano, auxiliary bishop of San Diego, to serve as the bishop of the diocese of Monterey, California, according to a Dec. 17 Vatican Press Office statement.
He succeeds Bishop Daniel Garcia, whom Pope Leo appointed as bishop of Austin, Texas, in July.
The Monterey diocese stated on X Dec. 17 that it welcomes the newly designated bishop with joy.
“We ask the faithful to join us in prayer for Bishop-Designate Bejarano as he prepares to assume this ministry,” the diocese added.
The diocese encompasses more than 21,000 square miles and has more than 368,000 Catholics, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ press office.
Bishop Bejarano was born in July 1969 in the southern city of Laredo, Texas, on the border of Mexico. He was ordained a priest in 1998 for the diocese of Stockton after going to the Seminario Diocesano de Tijuana, Mexico, and Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon, according to the Holy See Press Office.
He served as parish vicar at Saint George in Stockton until 2003 and then at Sacred Heart in Turlock until 2006. He then served as a parish priest at Holy Family in Modesto from 2006 to 2008, and then served at Saint Stanislaus in Modesto and as a member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, according to the statement. Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of San Diego in February 2020.
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