Participation in the congress
The Movements and New Communities in the US had a very special moment of worship and sharing our charisms in this congress.
Bishop Joseph Espaillat
Bishop Joseph Espaillat is auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York. He is the youngest bishop in the US.
He was born in New York. His parents had emigrated to Manhattan from the Dominican Republic. He attended Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary and earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at Fordham University in New York City in 1998. On May 17, 2003, Espaillat was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Edward Egan for the Archdiocese of New York. After several pastoral assignments, In 2012, he was appointed as director of youth ministry for the archdiocese. Espaillat was named in 2015 as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Parish in Bronx, New York.
He was consecrated as a bishop by Cardinal Timothy Dolan on March 1, 2022. At age 45, Espaillat became the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States and one of the youngest in the world.
Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala
Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala was born in El Salvador. He is auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington and is the Moderator of MovComUS. He arrived in the United States as an undocumented immigrant in 1990 with his brother. He studied philosophy at St. John Vianney Seminary from 1995 to 1999 and Catholic theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas from 1999 to 2002. He completed further studies at the Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI), part of the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, where he earned a licentiate. He also attended the Pontifical North America College.
On February 21, 2023, the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, consecrated him as bishop in Washington, D.C. His motto, Ibat cum illis (“He walked with them”) comes from Luke 24:15.
