Mario E. Dorsonville


Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez is a Colombian-born bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He has been an auxiliary bishop of Washington since 2015.

Early life and education

Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez was born in Bogotá, Colombia to Carlos and Leonor Dorsonville. He studied for the priesthood at Theological Seminary of Bogotá where he received a bachelor's degrees in philosophy and sacred theology. He was ordained a priest for the Bogotá archdiocese on November 23, 1985.

Priesthood

After ordination Dorsonville served as associate pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Bogotá, and chaplain of the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. He served as pastor of San Jose de Calasanz parish in Bogotá from 1987 to 1991. Dorsonville was then named associate chaplain and professor of ethics at the National University. He completed a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Xavierian University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.. While studying at Catholic University he served as associate pastor at Good Shepherd and Christ the Redeemer parishes in the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia, and as a lecturer at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington. At the same time he also served as a professor at the Hispanic Apostolate of Arlington from 1993 to 1994. After he returned to Colombia, Dorsonville served as chaplain and professor of ethics at the National University of Colombia and professor of pastoral counseling and catechesis at the major seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá. He returned to the United States where he served as associate pastor at St. Joseph parish in Arlington, Virginia in 1996.
In the Archdiocese of Washington Dorsonville served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Bethesda, Maryland from 1997 to 2004 and at St. Mark the Evangelist parish in Hyattsville, Maryland from 2004 to 2005. He was incardinated as a priest of the Washington archdiocese in 1999. He served as vice president for mission of the Catholic Charities of Washington and director of the Spanish Catholic Center from 2005 to 2015 and as an adjunct spiritual director at the St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington from 2011 to 2015. Dorsonville also completed an executive certificate in non-profit management at Georgetown University in 2009. Other positions in the Archdiocese of Washington include board of directors for Carroll Publishing Company, member of the priest council, mentor for newly ordained priests and College of Consultors.

Auxiliary Bishop of Washington

Dorsonville was named titular Bishop of Kearney and an auxiliary bishop for Washington by Pope Francis on March 20, 2015. His episcopal consecration took place on April 20, 2015 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C. He was consecrated by Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington. Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore were the co-consecrators.

Episcopal succession