Richard John Garcia

Richard John Garcia (April 24, 1947 – July 11, 2018) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Monterey in California from 2007 until his death in 2018. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento in California from 1998 to 2007.

Biography

Early life Garcia was born in San Francisco, California, on April 24, 1947, to immigrant parents from Mexico. He completed his studies for the priesthood at Saint Joseph College in Mountain View, California, and at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California.

Priesthood Garcia was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1973, for the Archdiocese of San Francisco at Sacred Heart Church in San Jose, California. By 1997, Garcia was serving as the pastor of Saint Leo the Great Parish in San Jose and as the diocesan director for vocations.

Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento Pope John Paul II named Garcia as titular bishop of Bapara and auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento on November 25, 1997. He was consecrated on January 28, 1998, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California. Bishop William Weigand served as his principal consecrator, with Archbishop John R. Quinn and Bishop Pierre DuMaine as his principal co-consecrators.

Bishop of Monterey in California On December 19, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI named Garcia as bishop of Monterey in California. He was installed on January 30, 2007. Garcia was also a member of Migration and Refugee Services, Subcommittee on Hispanics Affairs and the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church.

Death In April 2018, Garcia was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. García died in Monterey on July 11, 2018, from complications of the disease at age 71.