Pope Francis Daily

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Pope Francis has appointed Father Enrique
Delgado, a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, to be an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese.

The
appointment was announced in Washington Oct. 12 by Archbishop Christophe
Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States.

Born in
Lima, Peru, Bishop-designate Delgado, 61, is pastor of St. Katharine Drexel Parish
in Weston, Florida. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese in 1996 in his
home country.

He
worked in private business managing a company before immigrating to the United
States. Bishop-designate Delgado began studying for the priesthood in 1991.

He
served in parish ministry in the archdiocese for virtually all his priesthood,
first as parochial vicar of St. Agnes Church in Key Biscayne, and then at
Nativity Church in Hollywood. He was pastor of St. Justin Martyr Church in Key
Largo before being assigned to St. Katharine Drexel Church.

The newly named bishop’s episcopal ordination Mass
will be Dec. 7 at Miami’s St. Mary Cathedral, and Miami Archbishop
Thomas G. Wenski will be the main celebrant.
He will be the first U.S. bishop born in Peru.

In
introducing Bishop-designate Delgado at a Miami news conference, Archbishop Wenski said the archdiocese was “grateful that Pope Francis has
thought of Miami to send us a second auxiliary bishop.” And that he chose “one
of our own” for the position, he added.

“His
brothers in our presbyterate describe him as ‘very kindly, devout, fraternal … a
good man, well liked, very competent,'” Archbishop Wenski said. “I look forward
to his working along with (Auxiliary) Bishop (Peter) Baldacchino at my side in
assisting me in the care of souls of this dynamic, diverse and vibrant local
Church, the Archdiocese of Miami.”

The
fact that the newly named auxiliary is Peruvian by birth “reflects the growing
presence of Hispanics in the Catholic Church here in the United States —
something that here in South Florida has been obvious for a long time,” the
archbishop added.

In
his remarks, delivered in English and Spanish, Bishop-designate Delgado said he
received the appointment “with great humbleness and a great deal of gratitude
to the Lord.” He pledged his “total support” to Archbishop Wenski in the
archdiocese’s pastoral work.

“Being
a new bishop, I respectfully ask the people of the Archdiocese of Miami to pray
for me, that I would be guided always by the Holy Spirit in all the work that I
do, to be transformed by the grace of God, so I can serve well, as an auxiliary
bishop,” he said.

He
said he’d known of his appointment for two weeks, since receiving the news from
Archbishop Pierre, and prayed God would send me “the Holy Spirit to be worthy
of this new call for the order of bishop”

When
he told the nuncio he accepted, the new bishop said he “speechless trying to
order my thoughts. It also comes to my mind a great gratitude to my parents, to
my mother that is in heaven and to my father who is in his old age. They have
always supported me in my priesthood.”

He
also is empowered, he said, by St. Paul’s words to the Philippians:
“I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.”

Born
Dec. 26, 1955, Bishop-designate Delgado is one of 11 siblings. He studied at the
University of Lima, where he earned a master’s degree in economics in 1982, with a
concentration on finance and accounting. He managed a company with 150
employees, but after several years of working, he discerned a vocation to the
priesthood.

He
immigrated to the United States and applied to the
Archdiocese of Miami and was accepted into its seminary programs in Miami and
Boynton Beach, Florida. He graduated with honors, receiving master’s degrees in
theology and divinity. When he was ordained a priest in Lima, then-Miami Auxiliary
Bishop Agustin Roman was the ordaining bishop.

After
being assigned as parochial vicar at St. Agnes in Key Biscayne from June 1996
to June 1999 and Nativity in Hollywood from June 1999 to April 2003, he was
appointed pastor of St. Justin Martyr Church in Key Largo, Florida in April of
2003.

In
August 2010, he was appointed pastor of St. Katharine Drexel Parish,
where he recently completed construction of the parish’s first church building.

In
December 2015, after completing his doctoral dissertation on “Building Our
Parish Together: An Exploration in Participatory Leadership,” he was awarded a doctorate
in practical theology from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens.