Carlos Arthur Sevilla

Carlos Arthur Sevilla (born August 9, 1935) is an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Yakima from 1996 to 2011 and as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco from 1988 to 1996. He is a member of the Jesuits.

Early life Carlos Arthur Sevilla was born on August 9, 1935, in San Francisco, California, and entered the Society of Jesus in 1953. He studied at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he obtained his Master of Philosophy degree

Priesthood On June 3, 1966, Sevilla was ordained to the priesthood for the Society of Jesus in San Francisco by Archbishop John Quinn. Sevilla made his solemn profession to the Society of Jesus on April 22, 1974.

In April 2008, Sevilla accepted blame for hiring Reverend Juan Gonzalez, a priest from Oregon, in 2003 to work as a retreat director for the diocese. Gonzalez was being investigated at that time by police in Marion County, Oregon, for viewing child pornography. Sevilla knew about the investigation, but hired Gonzalez anyway. Police later notified Sevilla that they had filed charges against Gonzalez, but the diocese did not follow up on the report.

In May 2008, Sevilla admitted that he failed to notify parishioners in the diocese about Reverend Jose Joaquin Estrada Arango, who had been convicted in 2008 of fondling a 14-year-old girl in Oregon. Estrada had worked in four parishes in the diocese between 2001 and 2003.

Retirement On May 31, 2011, with the installation of Bishop Joseph J. Tyson as the new bishop of Yakima, Sevilla became bishop emeritus. He spent the next several years in Yakima, helping Tyson and working with local ministries. Ramirez fled to Mexico after the incident, where he became an Anglican priest. Sevilla did not notify Ramirez's Anglican archbishop about the alleged crimes until 2005.

In July 2016, Sevilla moved into the Jesuit community at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California. In July 2021, Sevilla entered Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, a retirement home for Catholic clergy in Los Gatos, California. Sevilla works as a spiritual director, arranges retreats and conferences and helps with weekend masses in local parishes.