Juan Esposito-Garcia
Juan Rafael Esposito-Garcia is an Argentine-born priest of the Catholic Church who serves as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington in the District of Columbia and Southern Maryland.
Biography
Early life
Esposito-Garcia was born on January 10, 1974, in San Luis, Argentina. He attended the Instituto Santo Tomas de Aquino in San Luis for his primary education from 1980 to 1991. After finishing university, Esposito-Garcia entered the law school of the Universidad Catolica de Cuyo in San Luis, receiving a law degree in 2003.Having decided to become priest, Esposito-Garcia immigrated to the United States to attend Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was awarded in 2008 a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of Arts in moral theology from the seminary.
Priesthood
On June 14, 2008, Esposito-Garcia was ordained to the priesthood at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington by Archbishop Donald Wuerl. After his 2008 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Esposito-Garcia as parochial vicar at the following parishes in Maryland:- Shrine of St. Jude in Rockville
- St. Mark the Evangelist in Hyattsville. In 2011, he earned a Licentiate of Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in Washington.
- Little Flower in Bethesda and Ascension in Bowie. That same year, he was also named adjunct professor of canon law and adjunct spiritual director at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary.
Auxiliary Bishop of Washington
Pope Francis appointed Esposito-Garcia as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on December 19, 2022. On February 21, 2023, Esposito-Garcia was consecrated as a bishop at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, with Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville and Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell acting as co-consecrators.Esposito-Garcia speaks English, Spanish, and Italian.