The Rev. Dr. Antonio Gallardo, rector of St. Luke’s / San Lucas Church in Long Beach, Calif., has been elected eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles by Diocesan Convention meeting today in Riverside.
Gallardo, 58, was elected on the eighth ballot by 134 votes in the clergy order and 187 votes in the lay order. The election required a two-thirds majority from both orders on the same ballot, in accordance with the constitution of the diocese.
Rector of St. Luke’s/San Lucas, Long Beach, since 2023, Gallardo was previously vicar of St. Luke’s of the Mountains, La Crescenta, and served on the clergy staff of All Saints, Pasadena. Ordained to the priesthood in 2019 in the Diocese of Los Angeles, he holds a doctorate in business and economics from Lehigh University, as well as degrees from Venezuela’s Universidad Experimental Politécnica (UNEXPO) and Universidad Centro Occidental Lisandro Alvarado (UCLA), Claremont School of Theology, and Bloy House Episcopal Theological School.
Further biographical information about Gallardo, with statements of his vision for mission, is here.
Other nominees on the ballot were the Rev. Monica Burns Mainwaring, rector of St. Martin in the Fields, Atlanta, and the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Los Angeles. McCarthy withdrew her name from consideration after the fourth ballot.
The diocesan constitution requires at least two thirds of clergy in the diocese to be present to vote in order to elect a bishop by a simple majority. At this annual meeting, fewer than two-thirds of eligible clergy were present to vote.
The bishop-elect will succeed Los Angeles Bishop John Harvey Taylor who will retire in 2026 after nine years in office.
Pending the canonically required consent of a majority of the Episcopal Church’s diocesan standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction, Gallardo will be ordained and consecrated as bishop diocesan on July 11, 2026, in rites at All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena.
The Diocese of Los Angeles encompasses some 40,000 Episcopalians in 133 neighborhood congregations and mission centers, some 29 schools and five other specialized service institutions located in six California counties. Los Angeles historically is one of the five most populous and culturally diverse of the Episcopal Church’s 106 dioceses.
Please note: The Episcopal News will publish follow-up coverage containing comments from the bishop-elect.