Church Roman Catholic Name Armando Ochoa Ordination May 23, 1970 Successor (incumbent) | In office 2011— Education St. John's Seminary | |
 | ||
Previous post Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso | ||
Heart Talk Episode 01: Bishop Armando Xavier Ochoa
Armando Xavier Ochoa, D.D. (born April 9, 1943) is the Bishop of Fresno and he was formerly the Bishop of El Paso. Ochoa is an advocate of diocesan foster care programs and responsible water use.
Contents
- Heart Talk Episode 01 Bishop Armando Xavier Ochoa
- Bishops installment ceremony
- Early life
- Episcopal appointments
- Positions
- References
Bishops installment ceremony
Early life
Armando Ochoa, who is of Mexican American descent, grew up in Oxnard, California and was educated at institutions such as Ventura College and St. John's Seminary. He was ordained a priest on May 23, 1970. Ochoa served at three parishes in Los Angeles before becoming an administrator of Sacred Heart Parish in Lincoln Heights, CA in 1984.
Episcopal appointments
Ochoa was named titular bishop of Sitifis as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II in December 1986. He was consecrated on February 23, 1987 by Cardinal Roger Mahony. While as an auxiliary bishop, Ochoa was the principal co-consecrator of Bishops Joseph Martin Sartoris, Thomas John Curry and Gabino Zavala.
On April 1, 1996, Ochoa was appointed bishop of the Diocese of El Paso and installed on June 26 of the same year. During the eleven-year span between 1999 and 2009, there were only two ordinations to the priesthood in the Diocese of El Paso.
On December 1, 2011 the Pope appointed Ochoa as the bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, California, succeeding the late Bishop John Steinbock, who had died of lung cancer in December 2010 (the Fresno Diocese has an area of 91,268; a total population of 2,778,000; a Catholic population of 1,084,000; 166 priests; 46 permanent deacons; and 152 religious).
Positions
Ochoa considers the ordination of woman priests to be a moot point due to papal opposition; he believes that homosexuals should remain celibate in accordance with Church doctrine requiring all unmarried people to remain celibate; he believes that the priest shortage will be solved through faith rather than through allowing a married priesthood; and fears that teaching children about condoms in a school setting would send a "mixed message" regarding pre-marital sex.