The Pope Leo XIV entrusted Monsignor Gabriel Narciso Escobar Ayala with the service as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of the Most Holy Asunción, reported the Apostolic Nunciature in Paraguay. The new episcopal assignment implies his departure from the Apostolic Vicariate of the Paraguayan Chaco, where he has served as bishop since 2013.
The appointment was also presented by the Nunciature as a gesture of support from the Pontiff to the Paraguayan Church. According to the statement, the Bishop of Rome made this decision “expressing his closeness to the holy and faithful People of God who walk in Paraguay”.
Monsignor Escobar Ayala was born on June 18, 1971, in Asunción. He joined the Salesian Society of Saint John Bosco and was ordained a priest on February 10, 2001, after completing his training in Paraguay.
Profile and pastoral experience
His theological training took place in Chile, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Religious Sciences in 1998 and later deepened his studies in the educational field. In the Salesian mission, he took on various responsibilities, including the administration of the Salesian House of Concepción and the direction of the “Salesianito” School in Asunción, which he managed from 2008 to 2013.
On June 18, 2013, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Media and Apostolic Vicar of the Paraguayan Chaco. He received episcopal ordination on August 3 of that year and took possession of the seat of Fuerte Olimpo on August 9, 2013.
At the national level, his pastoral service has led him to take on various responsibilities in the Paraguayan Episcopal Conference. There he presided over the Episcopal Commission for Missionary Animation and coordinated the pastoral work of Human and Educational Mobility. Currently, he serves as coordinator of Consecrated Life in the CEP.
After thirteen years of episcopal service in the Paraguayan Chaco, Monsignor Escobar Ayala will now take on a new pastoral responsibility as auxiliary bishop in the Paraguayan capital.
Photo: Paraguayan Episcopate
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