WASHINGTON — When Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala returned to his native El Salvador earlier this year, he was immediately pressed into service by his 90-year-old mother, Catalina Ayala de Menjivar. He joined her in weeding and tending their family farm, helping with various chores.
“My mom puts me right to work when I go back home,” Bishop Menjivar-Ayala told the Catholic Standard, Washington’s archdiocesan newspaper. “She’s 90 years old, still working. I helped her build a shed for the chickens.”
Work has been a constant in Bishop Menjivar-Ayala’s life, from his childhood days on the family farm in El Salvador to his numerous jobs after fleeing his war-torn country and moving to the United States. He was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington in 2004 and became an auxiliary bishop in 2023.
In May, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala reflected on his journey during a graduation speech at Georgetown University, where he received an honorary doctorate. “In 1990, I arrived in Los Angeles with only a change of clothes and big dreams,” he said. “I took on any job I could find—receptionist, construction work, janitorial duties, painting, and youth ministry. I also took English classes at night and worked towards my high school equivalency.”
He recalled the moment he learned he was appointed as an auxiliary bishop. “Not bad for someone who started out cleaning restrooms and painting houses without knowing English,” he said. “We all start somewhere and must seize every opportunity.”
At age 18, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala arrived in the U.S. without legal documents. After applying for asylum and obtaining a work permit and later a green card, he became a U.S. citizen in 2006. His first job was as a receptionist at a law firm in Los Angeles. He began sending money back to his family in El Salvador.
He later worked in maintenance at clinics, taking on tasks like painting and floor installation. “Work is always a blessing,” he said. “I enjoyed painting because I could see the results of my labor. It was satisfying to transform a space.”
After moving to the Washington area, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala worked as a janitor at a UPS warehouse in Laurel, Maryland, and cleaned offices in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He also worked as a painter for two years. He valued the camaraderie with his coworkers.
“Working with others is a beautiful experience,” he said. “You build relationships and a sense of community. The workplace becomes a family where you support each other.”
Bishop Menjivar-Ayala also faced challenges, including exploitation and unsafe working conditions. He once worked for a painting company where the owner did not pay the workers.
Two months after his episcopal ordination, he celebrated a memorial Mass at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring for construction workers who died in workplace accidents in the past year. He wore a hard hat over his priestly vestments and blessed rows of chairs with a censer. Each chair had a white hard hat and a red rose to honor a fallen worker.
“This was a moving experience,” he said. “It could have been me or my brother. My brother-in-law fell from a roof and couldn’t work afterward. I took risks painting without proper equipment.”
For his episcopal motto, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala chose “Ibat cum illis” (“He walked with them”) from Luke 24:15, reflecting Jesus walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This phrase resonates with him, given his experiences as an immigrant and worker.
“We need to walk with people and meet them where they are,” he said. “Jesus walked with everyone, and we must do the same.”
As a parish priest and now a bishop, he understands the sacrifices workers make to support their families. He has trained as a labor priest and learned about the Church’s support for labor unions, which have historically helped immigrants and workers gain better pay and job security.
“The labor movement creates solidarity,” he said. “It shows that you are not alone. Unions speak up for workers and defend their rights. Solidarity makes it harder for employers to dismiss you, and that’s the beauty of labor unions—they look after others’ well-being.”
Reflecting on Labor Day, Bishop Menjivar-Ayala described it as a celebration of workers who sacrifice comfort to build a better world and support their families. “Work lifts our spirits,” he said. “It makes us co-creators with God.”
He noted the special nature of work in the Eucharistic prayer during Mass. “It’s not just bread from heaven but the fruit of our labor that becomes the Eucharist,” he said.