Diocese of San Bernardino: Auxiliary Bishop Rutilio del Riego

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus del Riego

Most Reverend Rutilio J. del Riego was born on September 21, 1940 in Valdesandinas (León) Spain. His parents were Aquilino del Riego Cabero and Francisca Jánez Antón (both deceased). He has two brothers and one sister.

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus joined the Fraternity of Diocesan Laborer Priests in 1961. He studied Theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, in Salamanca, Spain and at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. On June 5, 1965, he was ordained to the priesthood by Most Rev. William Joseph McDonald at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Bishop del Riego was granted a License in Sacred Theology and a M.A. by the Catholic University of America.

As a priest, he served as instructor at St. Vincent College, Latrobe, PA; Director of the Spanish Catholic Center, Washington, DC; Associate Director of Sol Vocational Institute, Washington, DC; Director of the Office of Vocations at the Mexican American Cultural Center, San Antonio, TX; Director of the Office of Vocations at the Northeast Catholic Pastoral Center, New York, NY; Pastor of Santa Lucia Parish and San Antonio de Padua Parish, both in the Diocese of El Paso, TX; and Director of the Diocesan Laborer Priests House of Formation, Washington DC. He has also served as Delegate for the United States for the Diocesan Laborer Priests.

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus came to the Diocese of San Bernardino in 1999 and served as Parochial Vicar and Pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Riverside where he worked with a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural community that includes Hispanics, Vietnamese, and Tongan Catholics. He also served as Vicar Forane for the Riverside Vicariate and as a member of the Presbyteral Council.

On July 26, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus as Third Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino and Titular Bishop of Daimlaig. He was ordained to the episcopacy by Most Rev. Gerald R. Barnes, Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino, on September 20, 2005. His episcopal motto is “Omnibus Servire in Caritate” which translates “To Serve All with Love”. This further emphasizes Bishop del Riego’s aspiration that “no one will feel a stranger in the Church of San Bernardino.”

The Most Rev. Rutilio del Riego, now Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Rutilio del Riego, retired on December 2015

Coat of Arms

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus’s Coat of Arms has a cross in the middle that divides it into four sections. The cross is the sign of every Christian and is the center of each apostle and disciple of Jesus.

In the upper left corner, a star symbolizes our Blessed Mother Mary whom Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II called the “Star of Evangelization.” This is also a simplified reference to the United States where Bishop del Riego will serve in his Episcopal ministry.

In the upper right corner, there are three interwoven hands which symbolize fraternity, unity in diversity, and collaboration. This is also the logo of the Fraternity of the Diocesan Laborer Priests to which Bishop del Riego belonged.

In the lower left corner, there is a gothic cathedral which is the Cathedral of León, Spain, homeland of Bishop del Riego, and a sign of continuity in the faith of the apostles. León was founded by the Romans in the second century and is the city where the remains of St. Isidore, Bishop of Sevilla in the sixth century, rest.

In the lower right corner, there is a fishing boat with the nets thrown into the sea symbolizing the response of the first disciples who left the boat and followed Jesus who said to them: “I will make you fishers of men.” This is a clear reference to the vocational call that is an important part of the Episcopal ministry in today’s Church.

"Omnibus Servire in Caritate"
The motto which translates "To Serve all with Love" further emphasizes Auxiliary Bishop Emerituss aspiration that "no one will feel a stranger in the Church of San Bernardino."