Alberto Rojas (born January 5, 1965) is a Mexican-born

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino in Southern California since 2020. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and elevated it to an ar ...

in Illinois from 2011 to 2019.

Biography

Early life

Alberto Rojas was born on January 5, 1965, in

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and attended elementary, secondary schools and college there. He entered the Santa Maria de Guadalupe Seminary in Aguascalientes at age 15. After coming to the United States, he completed a year of discernment at Casa Jesus in 1993 and then attended

Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a Private university, private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and theology, school of theology for the formation of priests in the Roman Catholic A ...

in Mundelein, Illinois, Royas earned his

Masters of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

from Mundelein in 1997.

Priesthood

Rojas was ordained on May 25, 1997, as a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal

Francis George Francis Eugene George (January 16, 1937 – April 17, 2015) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois (1997–2014) and previously served as bishop of the Dio ...

at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. After his 1997 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Rojas as associate pastor of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Chicago. He was transferred in 1999 to serve in the same role at St. Ita Parish in Chicago. Rojas left St. Ida in 2002 to join the faculty of Saint Mary of the Lake, where he taught for the next seven years. In 2010, Rojas was appointed as pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Chicago.

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

On June 13, 2011, Rojas was appointed as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Chicago and titular bishop of Marazanae by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He received his episcopal

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

at Holy Name Cathedral on August 10, 2011, from Cardinal George with Bishop Józek Guzdek and Archbishop

Gustavo Garcia-Siller Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. It is derived from Gustav /ˈɡʊstɑːv/, also spelled Gustaf, a Swedish name, likely from Slavic Gostislav. People with ...

serving as co-consecrators. While an auxiliary bishop, Rojas also served as

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

for Vicariate III. He also serve as the archbishop's liaison liaison to Hispanic Catholics and as his delegate to Consejo Pastoral Arquidiocesano Hispano-Americano.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of San Bernardino

On December 2, 2019, Rojas was appointed as coadjutor bishop of San Bernardino by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

to assist Bishop Gerald Barnes in his duties. Rojas automatically became as bishop of San Bernardino when Barnes retired on December 28, 2020.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Alberto 1965 births Living people Mexican Roman Catholic priests University of Saint Mary of the Lake alumni Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Christianity in Chicago People from Aguascalientes 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops in Illinois 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI