Gabriel Escobar Ayala appointed auxiliary bishop of Asunción

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Gabriel Narciso Escobar Ayala as the new auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Asunción. A member of the Salesian congregation, Escobar Ayala has served as the apostolic vicar of the Paraguayan Chaco since 2013.

This appointment marks the return of an auxiliary bishop to the Archdiocese of Asunción after more than two decades. The last individual to hold the position was Monsignor Adalberto Martínez Flores, who served from 1997 to 2000 and currently serves as the Archbishop of Asunción and a cardinal.

In his new role, Escobar Ayala will assist the Archbishop of Asunción in pastoral care and the governance of the archdiocese. The appointment does not grant him the right of succession to the archiepiscopal see.