Pope Leo XIV generated controversy within the United States on Friday when he appointed Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala — a former illegal alien by way of El Salvador — as the new bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which encompasses the entire state of West Virginia.
Menjivar-Ayala, 55, currently serves as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. He succeeds Bishop Mark Brennan, who has led the diocese since 2019.
The appointment was announced by the Vatican, and Menjivar-Ayala is scheduled to be installed on July 2.
Menjivar-Ayala was born in El Salvador and fled the country as a teenager in the late 1980s amid its civil war and conditions of extreme poverty. In 1990, after multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach the United States — including being detained by Mexican authorities in Chiapas, imprisoned, and deported once to Guatemala — he entered the country without authorization.
He was eventually smuggled across the border at San Ysidro, California, hidden in the trunk of a car along with three others by an elderly American driver following his release from prison through a bribe. Within a couple of weeks of arrival, Menjivar-Ayala obtained humanitarian protection.
He later received a visa as a religious worker and became a U.S. citizen approximately two decades ago. Prior to his ordination, he worked in various capacities, including roles that supported his path into ministry.
Menjivar-Ayala was ordained a priest and has spent his ministerial career primarily in the Archdiocese of Washington, where more than 40 percent of parishioners are Latino. In 2023, he became the first bishop of Salvadoran origin in the United States when he was named auxiliary bishop there.
His work has largely focused on pastoral care in the nation’s capital and surrounding communities.
Pope Leo XIV Accepts Resignation of Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston; Appoints Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as Successor | Read the full release at: https://t.co/iJcuIFfe3r pic.twitter.com/fdvh4pjJZB
— U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (@USCCB) May 1, 2026
Menjivar-Ayala has criticized the Trump Administration on immigration policy. In a 2025 column for the Catholic Standard, he described certain immigration enforcement actions as a violation of fundamental human rights and referred to the “dark side of anti-immigrant animus.”
The priest drew a parallel between the suffering of immigrants and the Passion of Christ. He also commented on the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including mass deportation efforts and what he characterized as a “shock and awe” campaign of aggressive operations.
In one statement regarding raids targeting, he noted, “that could have been me.”
Menjivar-Ayala will now be overseeing the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which serves roughly 61,000 to 90,000 Catholics across more than 90 parishes. The appointment has faced criticism due to its apparent political nature, as the diocese has one of the lowest Spanish-speaking rates in the country.
West Virginia is also one of the most pro-Trump states in the union.
