Richard John Garcia (April 24, 1947 – July 11, 2018) was an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Monterey in California from 2007 until his death in 2018. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Sacramento The Diocese of Sacramento is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. The diocese's see is Sacramento, it is led by a bishop who pastors the mother church ...

in California from 1998 to 2007

Biography

Early life

Garcia was born in San Francisco on April 24, 1947, to immigrant parents from Mexico. He completed his studies for the priesthood at Saint Joseph College in Mountain View and at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California. Garcia was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood on June 15, 1973, for the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unite ...

at Sacred Heart Parish in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. For seven years, he served as an associate pastor and coordinator of the Hispanic apostolate. From 1980 to 1984, he studied theology at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

in Rome. When the Diocese of San Jose in California was erected in 1981, Garcia was incardinated, or transferred, to the new diocese. He taught at Saint Joseph Minor Seminary in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 census. Most of the city's growth occurred between 1950 and 1980. Originally ...

, and at Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California. By 1997, Garcia was serving as the pastor of

Saint Leo the Great Parish Saint Leo the Great Church is a Roman Catholic church in the St. Leo's neighborhood of San Jose, California. Founded in 1923, it is a territorial parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California and named for Pope Leo I, a Doctor o ...

in San Jose, California and as the diocesan director for

vocations A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious co ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named Garcia

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Bapara and auxiliary bishop of the

on November 25, 1997''Bishop Richard John Garcia''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

; url accessed December 21, 2006 He was consecrated on January 28, 1998, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento; Bishop

William Weigand William Keith Weigand (born May 23, 1937) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento in California from 1993 to 2008. Weigand previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lak ...

served as his principal

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

, with Archbishop John R. Quinn and Bishop

Pierre DuMaine Roland Pierre DuMaine (August 2, 1931 – June 13, 2019) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of San José in California from 1981 to 1999. He also served as an auxiliary bish ...

as his principal co-consecrators. In

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Garcia served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

and moderator of the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

, vicar for

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, episcopal vicar for the

Hispanic American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

population, and vicar for

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and vocations.

Bishop of Monterey in California

On December 19, 2006, Pope Benedict VI named Garcia as bishop of the Diocese of Monterey. He was installed on January 30, 2007. In 2009, the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

elected Garcia as a member of the

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

and Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) where he sat on the board. Garcia was also a member of Migration and Refugee Services, Subcommittee on Hispanics Affairs and the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. In April 2018, Garcia was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. García died on July 11, 2018 from complications of the disease at age 71.

References

External links

Diocese of Monterey official website''Bishop of Monterey''

''United States Conference of Catholic Bishops''

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Richard John 1947 births 2018 deaths Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento People from San Francisco 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni American people of Mexican descent Catholics from California