Biography of Bishop Gerald R. Barnes
He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Antonio in 1975. He received the title of Monsignor in 1989. His last assignment before being named Auxiliary Bishop was rector of his Alma Mater, Assumption-St. John Seminary in San Antonio. He returned to California as the first Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino in 1992. His mother, Aurora, died in May of 1991, and his father, George, died in May of 1998. His brothers and sister still reside in the greater Los Angeles area. After his Episcopal ordination on March 18, 1992, Auxiliary Bishop Barnes assisted Bishop Phillip Straling in conducting parish visitations and Confirmations, as well as attending Diocesan and community functions. Pope John Paul II appointed him Diocesan Bishop on December 28, 1995, and on March 12, 1996, before a crowd of over 2,500 people, he was installed as the second Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino. In addition to his leadership of one of the nation’s fastest growing dioceses, Bishop Barnes is the immediate past Chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Refugees and Migrants. He also holds membership in the USCCB Administrative Committee and the Communication Committee. He is a Board Member of the Mexican American Cultural Center and of Assumption Seminary. Locally he sits on the Board of Inland Empire Hispanic Scholarship Fund. He has recently become a member of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Church in Africa. |
 
Bishop Barnes' CalendarBishop Barnes' BiographyMost Reverend Gerald Richard Barnes was born in Phoenix, Arizona… Bishop Barnes' Coat of ArmsThe Coat of Arms of Bishop Gerald Richard Barnes displays a field of red with a band of silver at the top… Bishop Barnes' Key MilestonesThe Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes was born in Phoenix, Arizona on June 22, 1945… |
Most Reverend Gerald Richard Barnes was born in Phoenix, Arizona. His parents, George and Aurora, moved to Los Angeles when he was a year old. He and his five brothers and one sister grew up in East Los Angeles where his family owned a grocery store. Each of the children helped in the operation of the store. He attended public schools and religious education with the Victory Noll Sisters at San Basilio Center on Fetterly Avenue. Bishop Barnes graduated from Roosevelt High School and went on to attend California State University, Los Angeles where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1967. After attending seminaries in St. Louis, Missouri and in Dayton, Ohio, he enrolled in the Assumption-St. John Seminary in San Antonio, Texas.