Bishop of Ávila
Jesús Rico García was born on October 15, 1954, in Montemayor de Pililla, in the Archdiocese of Valladolid. He pursued his philosophical and theological studies at the Pontifical University of Salamanca. He was ordained a priest on June 24, 1979, by Saint John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica. He was incorporated into the Fraternity of Diocesan Worker Priests on May 3, 1981. He held the following positions and undertook further studies: Licentiate in Catechetics and Diploma in Educational Sciences from the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome (1981); Vice-Rector of the Seminary of Zaragoza (1981–1988); Deputy Director of the Maestro Ávila Vocational Institute in Salamanca (1988–1990); Rector of the Senior Aspirancy (1990–1996); Member of the General Council (1996–2002), Deputy Director General (2002–2008), and subsequently Director General (2008–2014) of the Fraternity of Diocesan Worker Priests; Spiritual Director of the Pontifical Spanish College of San José (2003–2007); Director of the Secretariat for Seminaries of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (2007–2008); and Rector of the Aspirancy in Huixquilucan, Mexico (2014–2020). Since 2020, he has served as Rector of the Pontifical Spanish College of San José in Rome. Professor of Catechetics at the Regional Center for Theological Studies of Aragon (1986–1988); member of the Maestro Ávila Vocational Institute (1988–1990) and of the editorial board of the journal *Seminarios* (1988–1996); rector of the aspirantate of the Diocesan Worker Priests in Salamanca (1990–1996); delegate in Spain for the Director General of the Diocesan Worker Priests (1996–2002); and Deputy Director General of the Brotherhood (2002–2008). He served as spiritual director of the Pontifical Spanish College of San José in Rome (2003–2007); director of the secretariat for the Episcopal Commission for Seminaries and Universities of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (2007–2008); Director General of the Brotherhood of Diocesan Worker Priests (2008–2014); and rector of the Mosén Sol Seminary in Mexico and professor at the Pontifical University of Mexico (2014–2020). He also served as rector of the Pontifical Spanish College of San José in Rome from 2020 until his episcopal appointment. Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Ávila on May 29, 2023. His episcopal consecration took place on Saturday, July 15, 2023, at the Cathedral of Ávila. Within the Spanish Episcopal Conference, he has been a member of the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Seminaries since November 2023. He completed theology studies in 1978.