Standing Committee Update

Bishop Sylvestre Romero appointed Assisting Bishop
for the Diocese of El Camino Real

Following Diocesan Council’s approval of the financial details of the Letter of Agreement, the Standing Committee is pleased to announce its appointment of the Rt. Rev. Sylvestre Romero, currently Bishop of Belize, as the Assisting Bishop for the Diocese of El Camino Real.

Bishop Romero was born in Belize on December 31, 1944, and grew up in Belize City as a Roman Catholic. As a teenager he went to Guatemala, where he became a member of the Anglican Church and married Evangelina, a Guatemalan. (Their four grown children include the Rev. Silvestre Romero Jr., rector of St. Philip’s Church in San Jose.)

Bishop Romero received a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology in Guatemala, where he was ordained priest and served for 12 years. In 1986, he moved to California and began serving as Assistant Rector of St. Philip’s in San Jose, while earning his Master’s of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley. After finishing his seminary studies, he served the Diocese of El Camino Real as its Hispanic Missioner. Prior to his appointment to the episcopate by the House of Bishops of the West Indies, he served briefly in the Diocese of Los Angeles. On January 25, 1994 he was ordained Bishop of the Anglican Church in Belize.

In his ministry as priest and bishop, Sylvestre Romero has developed training programs for lay leadership, established schools for children, youth, and seminarians, and worked in a number of community development projects. He was the coordinator for the construction of over 400 houses after the earthquake of 1976 in Guatemala; he also worked to introduce electricity into many towns and villages, and raised funds for scholarships for the poor. However, his primary ministry has always been as a pastor, teacher, and healer.

In our next Update, the Standing Committee and Bishop Romero will provide details of how they plan to work together to lead the diocese. The Standing Committee and Bishop Romero have three primary goals for the interim period:

·       to build trust and teamwork between the Ecclesiastical Authority and diocesan and congregational leaders;
·       to repair and improve diocesan structures, increasing diocesan support for congregational ministries;
·       working with the people of the diocese, to develop a diocesan vision leading to the election of the Third Bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real.

Bishop Romero will begin serving full-time in December, and will also be in the diocese the week of October 11-15, when there will be many opportunities for members of the diocese to meet him.