Manuel Antonio Ruíz de la Rosa

The Most Reverend
Mons.

Manuel Antonio Ruíz de la Rosa
Bishop of Stella Maris
DioceseStella Maris
Appointed27 August 2025
Orders
Ordination10 July 1993
by Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez
Consecration8 November 2025
by Piergiorgio Bertoldi, Fausto Ramón Mejía Vallejo, and Freddy Antonio de Jesús Bretón Martínez
Personal details
Born (1965-08-27) 27 August 1965
Bayaguana, Monte Plata, Dominican Republic
MottoIn Nomine Tuo, Domine
Styles of
Manuel Antonio Ruíz de la Rosa
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Manuel Antonio Ruíz de la Rosa, commonly referred to as Manuel Ruíz, (born 27 August 1965) is a Roman Catholic bishop from the Dominican Republic with a history of involvement in social initiatives. As of 2025, Ruíz serves as the first bishop of the Diocese of Stella Maris.

Early life and education

Ruíz was born 27 August 1965 in Bayaguana, a municipality in the Dominican Republic's Monte Plata Province. He is one of 17 siblings.[1][2][3]

Ruíz studied philosophy at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) before completing studies in theology at Pontifical Seminary of Saint Thomas Aquinas (SPSTA). He also possesses a humanities doctorate from the University of Seville in Spain. He has taught as a professor at both PUCMM and the Universidad Católica Santo Domingo, and he served as a formator at SPSTA.[4][5]

Priesthood

After completing seminary, Ruíz was ordained a priest on 10 July 1993 by Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez. He was incardinated as a priest for the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo.[6] As a parish priest, Ruíz was known for his leadership, dedicated work, and sensitivity.[7] He has been especially dedicated to areas of education, communication, ecology, and healthcare.[3][8]

Social initiatives

Ruíz has received attention for many public projects, especially in Santo Domingo Este's poorer neighborhoods, such as El Dique.

He founded Movearte Colegio, a school built largely of recycled materials rescued from the Ozama River.[9][10] Ruíz oversees a hospital boat, "the ark of mercy," which runs on the Ozama and is serviced by a separate ambulance boat.[10] Inspired by the Movearte project, he helped establish a system for using recycled materials in home construction.[3][9][11] Ruíz established a Bible park, which incorporates biblical narratives in a natural area.[5][10] For these various ecological and social initiatives for the poor, he was called a "son of [Pope] Francis."[10]

Ruíz was the co-founder of Radio Maria in the Dominican Republic. Before his appointment as bishop, he served as the director of the "Hogar Vida y Esperanza" project for orphaned and disabled youth.[5]

Episcopal conference roles

As a priest, he served as executive secretary and other roles for the Episcopal Conference of the Dominican Republic (CED).[4] As executive secretary, Ruíz became the CED's spokesman during the 2013 sexual abuse allegations against former apostolic nuncio Józef Wesołowski and another Polish priest. During interviews, Ruíz brushed off questions about why Pope Francis had removed Wesołowski.[12][13]

In 2014, he resigned from his position as CED governmental liaison following Danilo Medina's veto of a full abortion ban.[13] While still the conference representative, Ruíz led a public protest in front of Congress.[14] Immediately before resigning, Ruíz issued a note accusing Medina and Leonel Fernández of compromising values for the sake of reelection.[15][16] Ruíz later clarified that his values were at odds with Medina's decision, so he could not continue as church-state liaison in good faith.[17]

2016 Wally Brewster protest

Ruíz became the subject of criticism in 2016. As a school chaplain of San Juan Bautista de la Salle in Santo Domingo, he placed signs banning U.S. Ambassador Wally Brewster from school property and describing Brewster's presence as "inappropriate."[18][19] Brewster faced backlash from both Catholic and Evangelical leaders throughout his diplomatic tenure in the Dominican Republic due to Brewster's same-sex marriage and alleged governmental interference.[20][21][22][23][24]

Handling of Wesołowski abuse allegations

Ruíz's 2016 protest against Ambassador Brewster reawakened criticism for the church's handling of sexual abuse allegations against nuncio Józef Wesołowski three years prior.[8][19] Ruíz was the CED spokesman regarding Wesołowski's sudden removal in 2013, and Ruíz did not elaborate what sort of investigations were underway.[12] Before Wesołowski was found guilty in ecclesial court and laicized in 2014 as a result of the investigations, Ruíz accused five journalists of defamation and slander against Wesołowski in Dominican civil court.[25][26][27] Dominican courts later threw out these allegations.[28][29]

Episcopacy

On 27 August 2025, Pope Leo XIV erected the Diocese of Stella Maris and appointed Ruíz to be its first bishop.[6] Stella Maris is only the second diocese created by Pope Leo XIV.[30]

Early in October 2025, Bishop-Elect Ruíz visited Rome with the. During that visit, Ruíz met Leo and invited the pope to visit the Dominican Republic.[31]

He was consecrated a bishop by Piergiorgio Bertoldi, papal nuncio to the Dominican Republic, on 8 November 2025.[32] The altar used during the ceremony was shaped like a boat.[33] Ruíz's episcopal ordination was attended by both ecclesial and civil Dominican leader, including President Luis Abinader, former President Leonel Fernández, and Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez.[34][35] Also in attendance were bishops from Haiti, the mainland United States, and Puerto Rico.[33]

References

  1. ^ "Manuel Ruiz: El sacerdote dominicano polifacético que lleva la Iglesia a las periferias del Ozama". Religión Digital (in European Spanish). 2025-03-23. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  2. ^ "Papa León XIV crea nueva diócesis "Stella Maris" en República Dominicana". El Mismo Diario (in Spanish). 2025-08-27. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  3. ^ a b c Germán Perez, Nino (27 August 2025). "Papa León XIV crea nueva diócesis en República Dominicana y nombra como obispo al padre Manuel Ruiz". entelevision (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  4. ^ a b Libre, Diario (2025-08-27). "El papa León XIV crea nueva diócesis en RD y nombra al padre Manuel Ruiz como su obispo". Diario Libre (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  5. ^ a b c "Papa León crea Diócesis Stella Maris en RD y designa como su obispo al padre Manuel Ruiz". listindiario.com (in Spanish). 2025-08-27. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  6. ^ a b "Rinunce e nomine". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  7. ^ Paredes, Mario J. (2025-11-07). "For you I am a Bishop; with you I am a Christian". Exaudi. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  8. ^ a b "Major changes happening in the Dominican Roman Catholic Church". DR1.com. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  9. ^ a b Dechelotte, Alexandre (2023-09-22). "The story of Manuel Ruiz, a visionary priest". Plastic Odyssey. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  10. ^ a b c d "Manuel Ruiz: El sacerdote dominicano polifacético que lleva la Iglesia a las periferias del Ozama". Religión Digital (in European Spanish). 2025-03-23. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  11. ^ Acosta, Candida (2020-11-19). "Hacen casas con botellas plásticas en El Dique". Listin Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  12. ^ a b "Dominican church: Envoy not accused of sex abuse". AP News. 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  13. ^ a b "Busy priest is Dominican Republic-Catholic Church 'War's' 1st casualty". Dominican Today. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  14. ^ Pérez Reyes, Ramón (2014-12-09). "Con cánticos y pancartas feligreses manifiestan su oposición al aborto". Listin Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  15. ^ "Nombran sustituto de padre Manuel Ruíz para enlace Gobierno e Iglesia". Hoy Digital (in Spanish). 2014-12-22. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  16. ^ "Dominicana regulará excepciones en penalización del aborto – DW – 17/12/2014". dw.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  17. ^ "Padre Manuel Ruíz dice seguirá en la calle luchando contra el aborto". eldia.com.do (in Spanish). 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  18. ^ Shine, Robert (2016-03-30). "Gay Ambassador Faces Harsh Letter from Bishops and Ban from Catholic School". New Ways Ministry. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  19. ^ a b "Dominican Republic priest challenges US envoy on 'intolerance'". DominicanToday. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  20. ^ "Dominican Cardinal to Gay Ambassador: You're a Wife, So Go Do Housework". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  21. ^ Simonette, Matt (2016-03-23). "U.S. ambassador weathers anti-gay criticism in Dominican Republic". Windy City Times. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  22. ^ "Openly gay US ambassador treads touchy path in Dominican Republic". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  23. ^ Fieser, Ezra (13 June 2014). "U.S. ambassador to Dominican Republic chides antigays". Reuters. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  24. ^ Shine, Robert (2016-01-13). "Dominican Catholic Officials Again Attack Gay U.S. Ambassador". New Ways Ministry. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  25. ^ "Former Vatican ambassador defrocked for sex abuse". PBS News. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  26. ^ "Padre Ruiz somete a Marino Zapete, Altagracia Salazar, Franklin Guerrero y Diana Lora". Acento (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  27. ^ "Juzgado declara admisible querella interpuesta por padre Manuel Ruiz". eldia.com.do (in Spanish). 2015-10-25. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  28. ^ Cruz Benzan, Ramón (2016-03-04). "Tribunal declara inadmisible demanda padre Manuel Ruiz contra 4 comunicadores". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Listin Diario. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  29. ^ Group, 2006-2020, Merit Designs Consulting. "Dominican press wins landmark case against Catholic Church". DominicanToday. Retrieved 2025-12-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ "Pope splits up massive archdiocese in Dominican Republic | News Headlines". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  31. ^ Diario, Listin (2025-10-06). "Papa León XIV recibe nuevo Obispo, Manuel Ruíz agradeció designación y lo invita a visitar a RD". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  32. ^ Medina, Luz Marina (2025-11-11). "La Iglesia dominicana celebra el nacimiento de Stella Maris, nueva diócesis guiada por monseñor Ruiz de La Rosa". ADN Celam (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  33. ^ a b Sanchez Silva, Walter (8 November 2025). "De limpiar zapatos a ser el primer obispo de la diócesis de Stella Maris en Santo Domingo". ACI Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  34. ^ Matos, Leonel (2025-11-08). "En fotos: Así fue la ordenación de Monseñor Manuel Ruiz en la nueva Diócesis Stella Maris". Listin Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  35. ^ "Presidente participa en ceremonia por ordenación episcopal de monseñor Manuel Antonio Ruiz – El Nuevo Diario (República Dominicana)". elnuevodiario.com.do (in Spanish). 2025-11-08. Retrieved 2025-12-13.

https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bruizdlr.html

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