WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has named Father Jorge Rodriguez-Novelo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver, as an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese. Father Rodriguez-Novelo, 61, currently serves as pastor of Holy Cross Church in Thornton and as a faculty member of St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, Colorado.



The appointment was publicized in Washington, August 25, by Msgr. Rolandas Makrickas, chargé d'affaires ad interim of the nunciature of the United States.



Jorge Rodriguez-Novelo was born March 22, 1955 in Mérida, Mexico. He joined the Novitiate in the Legion of Christ and pursued a licentiate in philosophy (1984) at the Gregorian University in Rome (1984), a bachelor's degree in theology at the Angelicum University in Rome (1987), a licentiate (1990) and a doctorate in theology (1994) at the Gregorian.



He was ordained a priest on December 24, 1987. Assignments after ordination included several academic positions at the Center of Higher Studies of the Legion of Christ, Rome, including academic assistant of philosophical studies, 1984-1987; academic assistant of theological studies, 1987-1989; prefect of theological studies, 1989-1999; general prefect of studies, 1994-1999; and professor, 1990-1992. He also served as dean of the Department of Theology and professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolarum, Rome, 1993-1999.



Assignments at the Archdiocese of Denver include: associate pastor, St. Therese Parish, Aurora, 1999-2001; associate director of vocations for Hispanic discernment, 2000; vice president, Our Lady of the New Advent Theological Institute, 2001; vice prefect of studies, St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, 2001-2002; associate pastor, Stella Mans, Rome, 2002-2005; professor and associate director of the Spirituality Year, 2006; vice rector, St. Vianney Theological Seminary, 2007-2014; ex-officio member, Presbyteral Council, 2010; parochial vicar, Ascension Parish, Denver, 2012-2014; pastor, Holy Cross Parish; professor, St. John Vianney Seminary, 2014- present.



Father Rodriguez-Novelo was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Denver in 2008.



The Archdiocese of Denver comprises 40,154 square miles in the state of Colorado. It has a total population of 3,603,604 people of which 576,737 or 16 percent, are Catholic. The archbishop of Denver since 2012 is Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila.

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