New Bishop brings message of unity, belonging to diocese installation
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As the newly installed Bishop of the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese, the Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala already had one thing figured out with his new Mountain State mission.
It never hurts to quote “Country Roads.”
Menjivar, who was installed as the 10th Bishop of the diocese Thursday afternoon at Wheeling’s Cathedral of St. Joseph, weaved the iconic John Denver tune into his first homily from nearly the start.
“Today, West Virginia truly feels like almost heaven,” he told the packed church.
And, yes, he continued, country roads did bring him home, his new home of West Virginia where he will step into the role vacated by the retiring Most Rev. Mark Brennan. Menjivar told the congregation, visiting bishops and archbishops and community leaders of various faiths that he wanted to guide the diocese to help West Virginia be a place where everyone can say they belong.
“As our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of its independence, may we renew our commitment to this … present in the DNA of the American people and embodied in the self-evident truth upon which this nation was founded,” he said, “that every human person is endowed by the Creator with an indisputable dignity and with rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“My prayer is that we walk along together in ministry,” he continued, “not merely along the country roads, but along the way of the Gospel. May we continue making this local church, this diocese and West Virginia a place where everyone feels at home.”
Thursday’s installation began with Menjivar’s ceremonial three knocks upon the front door of the Cathedral of St. Joseph. From there, the Most Rev. William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, greeted those in attendance. Menjivar comes to the Wheeling-Charleston diocese after serving as the Auxiliary Bishop of Washington.
“The Bishop comes among us as a shepherd with a big heart,” Lori said, “with a heart that is loving and courageous, a heart that is brimmed with gifts of nature and grace.”
Following another welcome from Brennan to those in attendance, the Most Rev. Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America, read the apostolic letter of appointment from Pope Leo XIV, and Menjivar accepted the apostolic mandate as the diocese’s 10th Bishop.
The installation’s readings and songs were performed in both English and Spanish. Menjivar also spoke both languages during his homily. Born in Chalatenango, El Salvador, in 1970, Menjivar migrated to the United States in 1990. He was working in construction and a youth minister when Brennan, who was serving in the Maryland and Washington D.C. areas, came upon him and opened the door for Menjivar into the priesthood. When he was made Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington in 2023, he became the first Salvadoran-born bishop in the country.
On Thursday, he told those in attendance that, for West Virginia to be a place where everyone feels they belong, the church must always listen. It must listen to young people trying to find their way in the world. It must listen to our older neighbors, whose hard work and sacrifice paved the way for what we all enjoy today.
It must support those struggling through hardship, be it economic, emotional or the struggle through addiction and mental health challenges. He said it must stand with workers as well as immigrants and “all who feel unseen, hurt or forgotten.”
“The church is at her best when she stands with those in the margins,” he said, “defending the dignity of every human person, working tirelessly for justice rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Menjivar said there is about one Catholic per square kilometer in West Virginia, so the diocese may not be as large as other congregations in the state. Yet that should not deter the diocese from spreading a message of love and compassion.
“I come before you as your brother and shepherd,” he said, “not with all the answers, but with a sincere desire to love you and to serve you the best I can.”