WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pope Leo XIV has appointed as Bishop of Monterey the Most Reverend Ramón Bejarano, currently Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on December 17, 2025, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Wednesday.
Bejarano, born on July 17, 1969, in Seagraves, Texas, was ordained on Aug. 15, 1998, in the Diocese of Stockton, his biography reads.
He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego on Feb. 27, 2020, and consecrated five months later.
Bishop Bejarano–who led a mass back in April in Brawley during the Jubilee Opening–succeeds former Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, who was appointed Bishop of Austin, Texas, earlier this year.
Bishop Slawomir Szkredka–who was born in the town of Czechowice-Dziedzice in southern Poland, less than 50 miles from St. Pope John Paul II’s hometown of Wadowice–currently serves as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Monterey.