LA Auxiliary Bishop Aclan, second Filipino American named US bishop, retires

Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of the Auxiliary Bishop Alejandro "Alex" Aclan of Los Angeles, 75, who was the second Filipino American priest to be named bishop in the U.S. when he was appointed in 2019. 

The resignation was publicized in Washington May 22 by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignation to the pope when they turn 75. Aclan turned 75 on Feb. 9.

"For years, Bishop Alex has faithfully served the people of Los Angeles with humility, compassion, and devotion to Christ and His Church," said a statement from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles posted on its Facebook page. "Please join us in thanking him for his many years of ministry and praying for him as he begins this new chapter. May God continue to bless Bishop Alex abundantly."

Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez said Bishop Aclan "has been a good faithful servant." "He loves the Lord and he loves the people entrusted to his care. He is a good friend and trusted adviser, and I know his life will continue to be beautiful and fruitful in his retirement," the archbishop said in a statement shared early May 22 with Angelus, the archdiocesan news outlet.

After his episcopal ordination May 16, 2019, Aclan oversaw the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' San Fernando pastoral region until suffering a stroke in August 2022 that required hospitalization and extensive recovery, Angelus reported.

Born Feb. 9, 1951, in Pasay City, Philippines, the third of eight children, the future bishop earned a bachelor of science degree in medical technology from the University of Santo Tomas, Dominican University in Manila in 1971.

He had a successful career in information processing before immigrating to California with his family in the early 1980s. A few years later, he entered St. John's Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Los Angeles Archdiocese in 1993.

He ministered in several parishes before he was named vicar for clergy for the archdiocese in 2015.

Pope Francis appointed then-Father Aclan as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles March 5, 2019. He was consecrated as a bishop May 16, 2019, at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles by Archbishop Gómez, with Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, retired archbishop of Los Angeles, and Bishop Oscar A. Solis, then an LA auxiliary, serving as co-consecrators. Bishop Solis, the first Filipino American bishop in the U.S., now heads the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

The Los Angeles area is home to the largest Filipino immigrant community in the United States.