The Rt. Rev. Austin Keith Rios

The Rt. Rev. Austin Keith Rios was ordained and consecrated Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of California on May 4, 2024. He will serve in the coadjutor role until the retirement of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Marc Handley Andrus on July 24, 2024, at which point Bishop Rios will assume the role of Ninth Bishop of California, becoming the diocese’s chief pastor. In this position, he will be responsible for leading, supervising, and uniting congregations, ministries, and diocesan institutions.

Bishop Rios is the first Latino to be elected as a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California. His heritage includes Mexican American ancestry from his father’s side and Scottish and English ancestry from his mother’s side. Although English was spoken at home, Bishop Rios decided to embrace his Latino heritage at an early age by learning Spanish, which he now speaks fluently along with Italian.

Before joining the Diocese of California, Bishop Rios served for 12 years as the rector of St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, Italy, a multilingual and multicultural community that houses and offers The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center as its primary outreach.Additionally, he spent five years as the Rector of La Capilla de Santa Maria, a Spanish-speaking congregation in Hendersonville, North Carolina, while also serving as the Canon for Spanish-Speaking Ministries in the Diocese of Western North Carolina.

Bishop Rios has served the wider Episcopal Church in various capacities, including multiple terms as a deputy to the General Convention. In 2018, he was elected to a six-year term as a Trustee of the Church Pension Fund and serves as Vice Chair of its Investment Committee.

Bishop Rios calls several places home, including Texas, where he was born; Rome, Italy; North Carolina; Wisconsin; Louisiana; and now, the San Francisco Bay Area. With its distinct character and tremendous diversity, Bishop Rios is looking forward to becoming part of the region’s fabric and discovering how its many wonderful people and places will shape the trajectory of his life.

Bishop Rios holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and a Master of Divinity degree from The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. He was ordained as a priest in 2005. He is married to Maleah Rios and has one child.