Pope Francis has named Father Mario E. Dorsonville-Rodríguez, 54, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, as an auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese.
Bishop-elect Dorsonville-Rodríguez serves as vice president for mission of Catholic Charities and director of the Spanish Catholic Center of the Archdiocese of Washington.
The appointment was announced today.
Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez was born Oct. 31, 1960, in Bogotá, Colombia. He was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 23, 1985, in Bogotá.
He received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá in 1991 and a doctorate in ministry from The Catholic University of America in 1995.
Since then, he has has various pastoral, teaching and other roles in both the United States and Colombia.
The Archdiocese of Washington is comprised of 2,104 square miles encompassing the District of Columbia and parts of the state of Maryland and has a total population of 2,867,377 people, of whom 630,823, or 22%, are Catholic.
The archdiocese currently has two active auxiliary bishops, Bishop Martin D. Holley and Bishop Barry C. Knestout, and one retired auxiliary bishop, Bishop Francisco Gonzáles Valer. S.F., who retired in 2014.
