The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Palm Beach (Florida), presented by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito, and has appointed as the new bishop of the diocese the priest Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, until now pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, in the Diocese of Brooklyn (New York).
In the same statement, the Pope has also appointed a new auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Phoenix (Arizona), designating the priest Peter Dai Bui, until now vicar for the clergy, and assigning him the titular see of Ausafa.
With these decisions, this is the second and third episcopal appointment for the United States within the span of one week, which demonstrates a sustained pace of renewals in the North American episcopate.
New Bishop of Palm Beach
Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez was born on January 15, 1974, in the Dominican Republic. He entered the Salesian Society in 1993 and made his solemn vows in 2002. He was ordained a priest on July 3, 2004, and was incardinated in the Diocese of Brooklyn in 2012.
He has extensive academic training in philosophy, education, and canon law, obtained in institutions in the Dominican Republic, Rome, and the United States, including the Catholic University of America in Washington. Throughout his ministry, he has held various pastoral and educational positions, as well as that of defender of the bond since 2017.
Since 2020, he has served as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in Queens, before being called now to assume the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Palm Beach.
New Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix
The new auxiliary bishop of Phoenix, Bishop Peter Dai Bui, was born on January 11, 1970, in Phú Quốc (Vietnam). After emigrating to the United States, he entered the Legionaries of Christ and was ordained a priest in December 2003. He was subsequently incardinated in the Diocese of Phoenix in 2009.
He has developed his pastoral ministry both in Latin America and in the United States and in the Roman Curia, where he served in the then Pontifical Council Cor Unum between 2011 and 2016. Since 2022, he has served as vicar for the clergy of the Diocese of Phoenix.