Armando Xavier Ochoa


Armando Xavier Ochoa, D.D., was the Bishop of Fresno from 2011 to 2019. He was formerly the Bishop of El Paso from 1996 to 2011.

Early life

Armando Ochoa, who is of Mexican American descent, grew up in Oxnard, California, and was educated at Ventura College and St. John's Seminary. He was ordained a priest on May 23, 1970. He served at three parishes in Los Angeles before becoming an administrator of Sacred Heart Parish in Lincoln Heights, California, in 1984.

Episcopal appointments

Ochoa was named titular bishop of Sitifis and an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II in December 1986. He was consecrated on February 23, 1987, by Cardinal Roger Mahony.
On April 1, 1996, Pope John Paul II named Ochoa Bishop of El Paso and he was installed there on June 26. Between 1999 and 2009, there were only two ordinations to the priesthood in the Diocese of El Paso.
On December 1, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Ochoa Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, California, succeeding Bishop John Steinbock who had died of lung cancer in December 2010.
On March 5, 2019, Pope Francis accepted Ochoa's resignation.

Positions

Ochoa considers the ordination of woman priests to be a moot point due to papal opposition; he believes that homosexuals should remain celibate in accordance with Church doctrine requiring all unmarried people to remain celibate; he believes that the priest shortage will be solved through faith rather than through allowing a married priesthood; and he fears that teaching children about condoms in a school setting would send a "mixed message" regarding pre-marital sex.
Ochoa is an advocate of diocesan foster care programs and responsible water use.