WHEELING W.Va. (WVDN) — The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Mark E. Brennan from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and has appointed as Bishop of that Diocese the Most Reverend Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, currently Auxiliary Bishop of Washington. The appointment was publicized in Washington D.C. on May 1, 2026, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop-designate Menjivar-Ayala, 56, will serve as the tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
Bishop Menjivar will succeed Bishop Mark Brennan, 79, who will remain as apostolic administrator of the diocese through July 1. The Mass of Installation will be celebrated on July 2, 2026, at 2:00 P.M., at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling.
Bishop Evelio Menjivar was born August 14, 1970, in Chalatenango, El Salvador. He migrated to the United States in 1990 and in 2023 became Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington, notably 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.
Bishop Brennan who has served the WV diocese since August 22, 2019, expressed his confidence in Bishop-designate Menjivar’s leadership.
“Many faithful across the diocese and I have prayed to God for a true shepherd of the people to lead our diocese into the future. I truly believe God has answered our prayers with the appointment of Bishop Evelio Menjivar,” Bishop Brennan said.
Bishop Emeritus Mark Brennan has served the diocese faithfully as a true “boots-on-the-ground” shepherd, walking with and listening to his flock, while proclaiming the Gospel with compassion, clarity, and pastoral charity. His episcopacy has been highlighted by broader lay participation in the Church’s life and mission, by reassembling the lay led diocesan pastoral council for collaboration, dialogue, and discernment among clergy, religious, and laity as well as a creating a more vibrant role for the diocesan finance council. At the same time, we have been blessed by an increase of vocations to the priesthood and diaconate life and have strengthened our encouragement to the consecrated life.
He has given the Church a consistent national voice in defense of the rights of the unborn and the vulnerable, affirming the dignity of women and the protection due to children as well as standing up to defend the rights of immigrants.
Bishop Brennan has also been a true friend of Catholic education at all levels across the state. Since 2019, the diocese has expanded classes in several schools and is opening a new high school in the Eastern Panhandle. He has also been a staunch supporter of Catholic Institutions of Higher Learning, including Wheeling University and Catholic Distance University.
