Armando Xavier Ochoa, D.D., (born April 9, 1943) is 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 bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California (2011 to 2019), bishop of the

Diocese of El Paso The Diocese of El Paso ( la, Dioecesis Elpasensis, es, Diócesis de El Paso) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in West Texas. Covering , it encompasses the Texas counties of El Paso, Brewster, Culb ...

in Texas (1996 to 2011) and auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particularly ...

in California (1986 to 1996).

Biography

Early life

Armando Xavier Ochoa was born in 1943 in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

. The second child of Angel and Mary Ochoa, he attended Santa Clara Elementary School in that city. Ochoa graduated from Santa Clara High School in 1961, then entered St. John’s Seminary College in Camarillo, California, in 1962 and later, St. John’s Seminary School of Theology in Camarillo.

Priesthood

Ochoa 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 ...

into the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on May 23, 1970. After his ordination, Ochoa was assigned as assistant pastor over time at three parishes in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

: * St. Alphonsus in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

* St. John the Baptist in Baldwin Park * St. Teresa of Avila in Los Angeles In 1982, while working at St. Teresa, Ochoa was named

chaplain of his holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

. Two years later, Ochoa was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Los Angeles. Ochoa's archdiocesan positions included co-director of the Permanent Diaconate Program, heading the Secretariat for Ethnic Ministry Services, He was also a member of the board for Don Bosco Technical High School in Rosemead, California, and St. John’s Seminary.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

Ochoa was named titular bishop of Sitifis and an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by

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 ...

in December 1986. Ochoa was consecrated on February 23, 1987, by Cardinal

Roger Mahony Roger Michael Mahony (born February 27, 1936) is an American cardinal and retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011. Before his appointment, he served as Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno from ...

Bishop of El Paso

On April 1, 1996, John Paul II named Ochoa as bishop of the Diocese of El Paso. He was installed on June 26. Between 1999 and 2009, there were only two ordinations to the priesthood in the Diocese of El Paso.

Bishop of Fresno

On December 1, 2011,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

appointed Ochoa as bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, succeeding Bishop John Steinbock, who had died of lung cancer in December 2010. On February 1, 2019, Ochoa announced an outside investigation of the records of Diocese of Fresno for all allegations of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

against clerics since 1922, with a report to be issued to the public after the investigation had concluded.

Retirement

On March 5, 2019,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted Ochoa's letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Fresno.

Positions

Ochoa considers the ordination of woman priests to be a moot point due to papal opposition; he believes that gay men and

lesbians A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with femal ...

should remain celibate in accordance with Church doctrine requiring all unmarried people to remain

celibate Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, th ...

; he believes that the priest shortage will be solved through faith rather than through allowing priests to marry; and he fears that teaching children about

condoms A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of inte ...

in a school setting would send a "mixed message" regarding

premarital sex Premarital sex is sexual activity which is practiced by people before they are married. Premarital sex is considered a sin by a number of religions and also considered a moral issue which is taboo in many cultures. Since the Sexual Revolutio ...

. Ochoa is an advocate of diocesan

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

programs and responsible water use.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno Official Site''Catholic Diocese of El Paso''
Retrieved: 2010-03-18. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ochoa, Armando Xavier 1943 births Living people People from Oxnard, California St. John's Seminary (California) alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of El Paso American people of Mexican descent Catholics from California