Pope Leo XIV on Friday named a former undocumented migrant as bishop of West Virginia, weeks after a high-profile clash with United States President Donald Trump.
The US-born leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics has been highly critical of Trump over immigration and the Middle East war.
The Vatican announced the nomination of Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, 55, currently an auxiliary bishop in Washington, to the diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in the poor mountainous state of West Virginia.
Born in El Salvador, Menjivar-Ayala migrated to the US in 1990, according to a biography on the Washington diocese website.
He has spoken in interviews about being born into poverty and fleeing conflict in his native country to arrive in the US as a refugee.
