Mario E. Dorsonville was born October 31, 1960 in Bogotá, Colombia, the only child of Leonor M. Rodríguez and Carlos J. Dorsonville. He attended the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1981 and a Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology in 1985. He was ordained to the priesthood on November 23, 1985 in Bogotá. Following ordination, he served as Parochial Vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, Bogotá (1986), Pastor of San Jose de Calasanz parish, Bogotá (1987-1991), Associate Chaplain (1988-1991) and Professor of Business Ethics (1990-1991) at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá.

Bishop Dorsonville received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá in 1991 and a Doctorate in Ministry from The Catholic University of America in 1996. From 1992-1994, while studying at Catholic University, he assisted the Hispanic community on weekends at Good Shepherd and Christ the Redeemer parishes in Arlington, Virginia, and served as a lecturer at the Inter-American Development Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He served as Professor of Theology and Catechesis at the Institute for Hispanic Pastoral Studies of Arlington from 1993-1994. He returned briefly to Colombia to serve as Chaplain and Professor of Business Ethics to the National University of Colombia and Professor of Pastoral Counseling and Catechesis at the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá from 1995-1996.

His first appointment within the Archdiocese of Washington was as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Bethesda, Maryland (1997-2004). He also served as Parochial Vicar of St. Mark the Evangelist parish in Hyattsville, Maryland (2004-2005) and he was a member of the Board of Directors for Carroll Publishing Company from 2001-2004.

Bishop Dorsonville served as Vice President of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington and Director of The Spanish Catholic Center from 2005 to 2015. He completed an Executive Certificate in Non-Profit Management at Georgetown University in 2009. He was also an Adjunct Spiritual Director of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., as well as a mentor for newly ordained priests (2011-2015).

He was named an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington by Pope Francis on March 20, 2015 and ordained to the episcopate on April 20, 2015. He has served as Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Washington since 2015. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Catholic Conference and was a member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities (2015 to 2021). He has been a member of the Council of Priests for the Archdiocese of Washington since 2006, and a member of the College of Consultors for the Archdiocese of Washington since 2011. Bishop Dorsonville was the chairman for the Migration and Refugee services committee for the USCCB (2019-2022). Currently he serves as a member of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Committee on Migration and Refugees, Committee on Religious Liberty and the Adhoc Committee Against Racism.

 

 

In designing the shield — the central element in what is formally called the heraldic achievement — a Bishop has an opportunity to depict symbolically various aspects of his own life and heritage, and particular elements of Catholic faith and devotion. The formal description of a coat of arms, known as the blazon, uses a technical language, derived from medieval French and English terms, which allows the appearance and position of each element in the achievement to be recorded precisely.

The field of Bishop Dorsonville’s shield is painted blue (azure), a color long associated with Our Lady. In the center of the shield is a tower painted gold (Or), which is likewise a symbol of the Blessed Mother, who in the Litany of Loreto is invoked as the “Tower of David” and a “House of Gold.” The same charge appears on the arms of Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Bishop Dorsonville was incardinated in the Archdiocese of Washington in 1999, and he has worked closely with the Cardinal as a member of the Council of Priests and of the College of Consultors.

The tower is charged with a “Chi-Rho”, an ancient monogram for Our Lord, painted red (gules). It is formed of the two Greek letters — chi, which resembles the Latin letter “X” and rho, which resembles the Latin letter “P” — that begin the Greek form of the title Christos, that is, Christ. The spiritual strength symbolized by the tower has its origin in the grace that comes through Jesus Christ, who is “a tower of salvation” (2 Sam 22:51), “a strong tower against the enemy” (Psalm 61:3). Taken as a whole, the design thus alludes to the mystery of salvation through the Incarnation of Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and the redemption that Christ won for us through his sacrifice on the Cross.

The tinctures of the Bishop’s coat of arms have another significance: they are the colors to be found in the national flag of the Republic of Colombia. Bishop Dorsonville was born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1960, and he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Bogotá in 1985. As an immigrant to the United States himself, throughout his time in this country he has taken an active role in ministry to immigrants, always mindful of the command of the Lord to welcome the stranger (cf. Matt 25:35). In 2005, he was named named Vice President for Mission for Catholic Charities in the archdiocese, and director of the Spanish Catholic Center (Centro Católico Hispano). The open door of the tower on the Bishop’s shield also alludes to the welcome the Church offers to immigrants in the name of Christ.

The scroll below the shield bears the Bishop’s motto: Sacerdos in Aeternum. These words from Psalm 110:4 — “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” — are echoed in the Letter to the Hebrews, which applies them to Our Lord and his self-sacrifice on the Cross. Bishop Dorsonville has been involved in the formation of new priests both in Colombia and in the United States, as a professor at the major seminary in Bogotá from 1995 to 1996, and as adjunct spiritual director at Saint John Paul II Seminary in Washington since 2011. Now, by his ordination as a bishop, he receives the fullness of the priesthood of the New Covenant, which he must always exercise in union with Jesus Christ the High Priest.

The shield is ensigned with external elements that identify the bearer as a Bishop. A gold processional cross appears behind the shield. The galero or “pilgrim’s hat” is used heraldically in various colors and with specific numbers of tassels to indicate the rank of a bearer of a coat of arms. A Bishop uses a green galero with three rows of green tassels.

APPOINTED VICAR GENERAL & 2015 – Present

MODERATOR OF ETHNIC MINISTRIES Archdiocese of Washington

 

ORDAINED AUXILIARY BISHOP OF WASHINGTON April 20, 2015

Archdiocese of Washington

 

APPOINTED AUXILIARY BISHOP OF WASHINGTON & March 20, 2015

TITULAR BISHOP OF KEARNEY Archdiocese of Washington

 

ADJUNCT SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR 2011 – 2015

To the Saint John Paul II Seminary Archdiocese of Washington

 

VICE PRESIDENT FOR MISSION 2005 – 2015 

Catholic Charities                 Archdiocese of Washington

 

DIRECTOR, IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE SERVICES               2005 – 2012

Catholic Charities                                 Archdiocese of Washington

 

PAROCHIAL VICAR 2004 – 2005

Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, Hyattsville, MD Archdiocese of Washington

 

INCARDINATED TO THE ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON June 23, 1999

 

PAROCHIAL VICAR 1997 – 2004

Our Lady of Lourdes, Bethesda, MD Archdiocese of Washington

 

CHAPLAIN 1995 – 1996

The National University of Colombia Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

ASSOCIATE CHAPLAIN 1988 – 1991

The National University of Colombia Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

CHAPLAIN 1987 – 1988

Our Lady of Consolation High School Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

PASTOR 1987 – 1991

San José de Calasanz Catholic Church Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

PAROCHIAL VICAR 1986 - 1987

Immaculado Corazón de María Catholic Church Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

ORDAINED ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST November 23, 1985

Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

 

EDUCATION

 

EXECUTIVE CERTIFICATE IN NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT 2009

Georgetown University, Public Policy Institute Washington, DC

 

DOCTOR OF MINISTRY 1992 – 1996

The Catholic University of America Washington, DC

 

LICENTIATE OF SACRED THEOLOGY 1989 – 1991

Xavier Pontifical University Bogotá, Colombia

 

BACHELOR OF SACRED THEOLOGY 1982 – 1985

Major Seminary Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

BACHELOR OF ARTS, PHILOSOPHY 1979 – 1981

Major Seminary Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

 

ADVISORY EXPERIENCE

 

MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE ON DOMESTIC JUSTICE & 2019 – 2025

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT USCCB

 

MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY 2019 - 2023

USCCB

 

MEMBER OF THE ADHOC COMMITTEE AGAINST RACISM 2020 - 2023

 

MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2019 - 2022

Catholic Legal Immigration, Network, Inc. (CLINIC) USCCB

 

CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON MIGRATION & REFUGEES 2019 - 2022 

USCCB

 

MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE ON CATHOLIC EDUCATION 2019 – 2021

USCCB

 

MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2018 – Present 

Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (C.A.L.L.) Archdiocese of Los Angeles

MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE ON MIGRATION & REFUGEES 2016 – 2019 

USCCB

 

MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015 - Present

Maryland Catholic Conference Archdiocese of Washington

 

MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015 – 2021 

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington

 

MEMBER OF THE COLLEGE OF CONSULTORS 2011 – Present

Archdiocese of Washington

 

MEMBER OF THE INTERFAITH COUNCIL 2011 – 2015 

Executive Office of the Mayor District of Columbia

 

MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF PRIESTS 2001 – 2003 / 2006 - Present

Archdiocese of Washington

 

MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2000 – 2004

Carroll Publishing Company – Archdiocese Catholic Press Archdiocese of Washington

 

 

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

 

PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ETHICS 1995 – 1996

Xavier Pontifical University Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ETHICS 1995 – 1996

The National University of Colombia Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

PROFESSOR OF PASTORAL COUNSELING 1995 – 1996

Major Seminary Archdiocese of Bogotá

 

PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AND CATECHESIS 1993 – 1994

Institute for Hispanic Pastoral Studies Diocese of Arlington

 

 

 

MEDIA EXPERIENCE

 

WEEKLY COLUMN FOR EL PREGONERO 1999 – 2004 / 2015 – Present

Archdiocesan Spanish Newspaper Archdiocese of Washington

 

 

 

ACADEMIC WRITINGS

 

EVALUATION OF A PROGRAM OF FORMATION FOR HISPANIC LAY LEADERS 

OF THE HISPANIC COMMUNITIES IN THE DIOCESE OF ARLINGTON

Doctoral Dissertation 

The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1995

 

CURSO ELECTIVO DE ETICA PROFESIONAL

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Dissertation

Xavier Pontifical University, Bogotá, Colombia, 1991

 

EL PROFETA OSEAS:  DOS LECTURAS DE SU LIBRO

(PUNTO DE VISTA POETICO Y PUNTO DE VISTA SOCIAL)

Bachelor of Sacred Theology Dissertation

Major Seminary, Bogotá, Colombia, 1985