Catholic Diocese of Monterey Bishop Richard Garcia died Wednesday from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 71.
The Diocese of Monterey wrote, “As a spiritual shepherd, he had a special concern for the poor, the incarcerated, migrant workers and immigrant communities. He was proud of his Mexican-American heritage and the diversity of cultures that are represented in the Church.”
The Diocese of Monterey issued the following statement:
“Most Reverend Richard John Garcia, the fourth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California died this morning, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Blessed with a deep faith in God and a life of priestly ministry, he passed into the loving embrace of his Heavenly Father. Bishop Garcia was diagnosed just three months ago with the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease and experienced a very rapid decline in health.”
“Bishop Garcia, a native of San Francisco, California, was born on April 24, 1947 to Manual Garcia and Anita Maria Adame, both natives of Jalisco, Mexico. He attended St Joseph’s High School Seminary in Los Altos Hills, California and received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Ca. After pursuing doctoral studies in Dogmatic Theology in Rome from 1980-1984, he served on the faculties of both the college and graduate seminaries at St. Patrick’s from 1985 to 1992.”
“Bishop Garcia was ordained a priest of Jesus Christ on June 15, 1973 for the Archdiocese of San Francisco at Sacred Heart Church in San Jose, California. In 1981, with the creation of the Diocese of San Jose, he continued to serve as a priest in Santa Clara County. He served as an associate pastor at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Morgan Hill, California. Before being appointed pastor of St. Leo the Great Parish in San Jose, California in 1995, Bishop Garcia served as the Vocations Director and the Vicar for Clergy.”
“In 1997, he was named Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento by Pope John Paul II and was ordained a bishop on January 28, 1997. In December 2006, he was named the fourth bishop of Diocese of Monterey by Pope Benedict XVI and installed as the new Ordinary on January 30, 2007. He served the Church faithfully for over the forty-five years of his priesthood.”
“In addition to serving as the Chairman of the Restorative Justice Committee for the California Catholic Conference of Bishops, Bishop Garcia also served as the chairman of CLINIC and on various committees for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops including the Migration and Refugee Committee and the Cultural Diversity Committee.”
“Bishop Garcia was known for his very personable, welcoming and friendly demeanor. As a spiritual shepherd, he had a special concern for the poor, the incarcerated, migrant workers and immigrant communities. He always had time for his priests, deacons, religious, seminarians and the people of God throughout the Diocese of Monterey.”
Funeral Arrangements for Bishop Richard Garcia
Monday July 16 —Body lying in repose
Location: San Carlos Cathedral, 500 Church St. Monterey Ca
Time: 2 p.m.—8 p.m.
Time: 7 p.m. Evening Prayer
Tuesday July 17
Location: Madonna del Sasso, 320 East Laurel St. Salinas Ca
Time:12-8 p.m. Visitation
Time: 3 p.m. Rosary
Evening Prayer: 5 p.m. (for lay people, priests and religious from neighboring Dioceses)
Evening Prayer: 7 p.m. (for the general public)
Wednesday July 18
Location: Madonna del Sasso, 320 East Laurel St. Salinas Ca
Time: Visitation 12-8 p.m.
Rosary: 3 p.m.
Evening prayer: 5pm (for Diocesan staff, parish staff, school staff, ecumenical representatives, priests, deacons and religious, parish and fraternal organization representatives)
Vigil: 7 p.m. (for general public)
Thursday July 19
Location: Madonna del Sasso, 320 East Laurel St. Salinas Ca
Funeral Mass – 11 a.m.
Committal: private
Full story at KSBW8.
May the soul of Bishop Richard Garcia, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Rest in peace. Perhaps a quick passing is a blessing in disguise. I know the infermities of Alzheimers can drag on for a long time.
My maternal grandparents passed away in their seventies from other problems, but I do not remember them ever suffering from forgetfulness as some of us do. Although they ate all kinds of meat, they ate a lot of fresh fruit, especially berries, which they grew on their corner lot and all kinds of fish — not shellfish. I have read recently that some people are having good results with memory just by changing their diet to include those things (fish and berries) and using more curry. Rosemary tea is also said to be good. People who eat fish or curried dishes before taking tests are said to score higher. It cannot hurt to try eating more of these things to improve our memory and perhaps ward off such conditions as Alzheimers.
As a person with Alzheimers in the family, how merciful God was to the Bishop!
He no longer has that dreadful disease and all the awful changes that people experience!!
Bishop Richard Garcia pray for a cure for Alzheimers!!!
Goin’ up to the Spirit in the sky
May God Bless Bishop Garcia in eternity. He was a humble man with a gentle soul.
Bishop Richard Garcia may his soul Rest In Peace. He will be missed very much. Please pray for us…
I nominate Peter Crivello to replace him. Fr. Crivello is the Vicar General.
Are you being serious? He’s the LAST thing the Diocese of Monterey needs! Long steeped in the tradition of Bp. Silvester Ryan, the diocese would experience a terrible decline if what you suggest is realized.
Take a look at the recent pastoral letter with Bp. Garcia’s name on it. It has Crivello’s fingerprints all over it, and it’s a sad document!
No Thanks!
I will never forget Bp. Garcia’s generosity in granting an indult mass at St. Paul the Apostle parish in Pismo Beach, a very gracious gesture in the era preceding Summorum Pontificum.
Requiescat in pace.
I think we can all agree that we wish eternal rest upon the Bishop. And that we are grateful that his path with Alzheimer’s seemed more merciful than we have experienced within ourselves and our families. RIP.
Bishop Garcia pray for us left behind to deal
with problems – memory & otherwise.
Anne TE : berry good advice on diet and
memory – nothing fishy about it !!