Eduardo Nevares

Eduardo Alanis Nevares (born February 19, 1954) is auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on May 11, 2010.

Early life and education

Eduardo Nevares was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Andres Valdes Nevares and Beatriz Alanis Tamez. The youngest of six children in a Mexican American family, he has one sister and four brothers, all of whom were born in Mexico. The family lived in Chicago, Illinois, before settling in Houston. Nevares received his early education at the parochial school of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Houston. At age 14, he enrolled at La Salette Minor Seminary in Jefferson City, Missouri. The following year, when the seminary was closed, he was transferred to St. Henry Preparatory Seminary in Belleville.

Nevares continued his studies at La Salette Junior College Seminary in Altamont, New York, where he earned an Associate's degree in 1974. He attended the Missionary of Our Lady of LaSalette Philosophy Seminary in Ipswich, Massachusetts, for one year before entering St. Thomas University in Houston, where earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1976. He entered the novitiate of the Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette in 1976, professing his first vows in 1977 and his final vows in 1980. He completed his theological studies at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1981.

Ordination and ministry

Nevares was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Bernard J. Ganter on July 18, 1981. His first assignment was as a parochial vicar at St. Patrick's Church in Lufkin, where he remained for seven years. From 1988 to 1991, he served as vocations director for the LaSalette Missionaries. He then resumed his pastoral ministry, serving as a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Jacksonville (1991) and a Catholic chaplain at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches (1991–93).

From 1993 to 2002, Nevares served as pastor of St. Patrick's Church in Lufkin. During his tenure at St. Patrick's, he oversaw the construction of a new church, which was completed and consecrated in 2001. In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as provincial counselor to the St. Louis province of the LaSalette Missionaries (1994–97). Nevares became co-director of Vocations for Holy Orders and Consecrated Life in the Diocese of Tyler in 2002. In this capacity, he organized and conducted the first Spanish-speaking program for candidates for the permanent diaconate. He also served as diocesan director of charismatic groups.

After twenty-five years as a LaSalette Missionary, Nevares was incardinated into the Diocese of Tyler in 2007. In 2008, he was appointed vice-rector of the College of Liberal Arts at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. As vice-rector, he has assisted with the administration of the priestly formation program, coordinated the formation for college level seminarians, and taught Spanish to the college seminarians.

Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix, Arizona

On May 11, 2010, Nevares was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix, Arizona, and Titular Bishop of Natchesium by Pope Benedict XVI, and is the first auxiliary bishop of and the first Hispanic bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix. His episcopal motto is: "Serve the Lord with gladness."

Nevares received his episcopal consecration on July 19, 2010 at 2:00 pm from Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, at the Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Avondale.