Gerald Richard Barnes

Gerald Barnes was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to George and Aurora Barnes. In 1946, the family moved to the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles The family opened a grocery store, where he and his siblings worked in their spare time.[1] Barnes attended public schools for his primary education, then graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles.[1]

Barnes entered California State University, Los Angeles, graduating in 1967 with a degree in Political Science. He then attended seminaries in St. Louis, Missouri, Dayton, Ohio and Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas.

On December 20, 1975, Barnes was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Antonio by Archbishop Francis James Furey. In 1989, he was named an honorary prelate with the title of Monsignor He also served as rector of Assumption Seminary.[1]

On December 28, 1995, John Paul II appointed Barnes as the second Bishop of San Bernardino. He was installed and consecrated on March 12, 1996.

In his episcopal ministry, Barnes established the 4 Core Values and explained the diocesan vision.

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Barnes chairs the Committee on Migration and Refugee Services. In that post, he described the "current immigration system" as responsible for "family separation, suffering, and even death" and "is morally unacceptable and must be reformed".[2] He chaired the Committee on Hispanic Affairs from 1996 to 1999.

Under Barnes, the Diocese operates three high schools, twenty-three elementary schools and three pre-schools. In 2001, Barnes inaugurated the Annual Bishop's Golf Classic to fund scholarships to families who are unable to afford a Catholic education for their children. During his tenure, Barnes closed four primary schools in Barstow, Banning, Apple Valley[3] and San Bernardino.[4] The high desert portion of the diocese has no Catholic schools

On April 3, 2003, the diocese of San Bernadino filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Boston. The diocese charged that the Archdiocese gave them false information on Paul R. Shanley, a priest who transferred to the diocese in 1990. Despite Shanley having a record of sexual abuse of minors in Massachusetts, the archdiocese described him as "a priest in good standing. Later in 1990, Shanley was accused of abusing a teenager at a hotel in Palm Springs, California.[5] On July 6, 2003, after speaking to the new archbishop of Boston, Sean Patrick O'Malley, Barnes decided to drop the lawsuit.[6]

In 2007, the Government of Mexico presented Barnes with the Ohtli award for his service to citizens of Mexico living in the United States.[1]In March 2014, Barnes, citing economic benefits and good citizenship, encouraged parishioners in the diocese to sign up for health insurance under Obamacare.[7][8]

On June 22, 2020, his 75th birthday, Barnes submitted his letter of resignation to Francis; the Pope accept it on December 28, at which point Coadjutor Bishop Alberto Rojas succeeded automatically to the office.[9]

• Diocese of San Bernardino