The Rev. Antonio Gallardo, rector of St. Luke’s / San Lucas Church in Long Beach, was elected eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on Nov. 8. Photo: Diocese of Los Angeles
[Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles] The Rev. Antonio Gallardo, rector of St. Luke’s / San Lucas Church in Long Beach, was elected eighth bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles on Nov. 8 by Diocesan Convention meeting in Riverside, California.
Gallardo, 58, was elected on the eighth ballot by 134 votes in the clergy order and 187 votes in the lay order. The election required a two-thirds majority from both orders on the same ballot, in accordance with the diocese’s constitution.
“I am grateful for your trust in electing me as your next bishop,” Gallardo told delegates, who welcomed him to the convention podium with a standing ovation. “I promise to do my very best to be a faithful pastor, and a wise steward of the resources that God has given us…. I have heard your desires to be united with a common purpose, to share the good news in Christ with many more people, to be an element of resistance and a source of hope in the country and the world that we live in, and to find ways to finance the great work we do, among other things.”
Rector of St. Luke’s / San Lucas, Long Beach, since 2023, Gallardo is the first Latino to be elected bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles. He was previously vicar of St. Luke’s of the Mountains, La Crescenta, and served on the clergy staff of All Saints, Pasadena. Ordained to the priesthood in 2019 in the Diocese of Los Angeles, he holds a doctorate in business and economics from Lehigh University, as well as degrees from Venezuela’s Universidad Experimental Politécnica and Universidad Centro Occidental Lisandro Alvarado, Claremont School of Theology and Bloy House Episcopal Theological School.
Further biographical information about Gallardo, with statements of his vision for mission, is here.
Other nominees on the ballot were the Rev. Monica Burns Mainwaring, rector of St. Martin in the Fields, Atlanta, Georgia, and the Rev. Melissa McCarthy, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Los Angeles. McCarthy withdrew her name from consideration after the fourth ballot.
The bishop-elect will succeed Bishop John Harvey Taylor, who will retire in 2026 after nine years in office.
Pending the canonically required consent of a majority of the Episcopal Church’s diocesan standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction, Gallardo will be ordained and consecrated as bishop diocesan on July 11, 2026, at All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe is scheduled to officiate.
Established in 1896, the Diocese of Los Angeles encompasses some 40,000 Episcopalians in 133 neighborhood congregations and mission centers, some 29 schools and five other specialized service institutions located in six California counties. Los Angeles historically is one of the most populous and culturally diverse dioceses of The Episcopal Church.