Most Reverend Rutilio J. del Riego, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of San Bernardino, was born on September 21, 1940, in Valdesandinas (León), Spain, to Aquilino del Riego Cabero and Francisca Jánez Antón (both deceased). He joined the Fraternity of Diocesan Laborer Priests in 1961 and studied theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca in Spain and the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 5, 1965, by Most Rev. William Joseph McDonald at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and later earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology and a Master of Arts from the Catholic University of America. His priestly ministry included service as an instructor, vocation director, pastor, formation director, and U.S. delegate for the Diocesan Laborer Priests, with assignments across Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Texas, and New York. In 1999, he came to the Diocese of San Bernardino, serving as parochial vicar and pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Riverside, as well as Vicar Forane for the Riverside Vicariate and a member of the Presbyteral Council. Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on July 26, 2005, as Third Auxiliary Bishop of San Bernardino and Titular Bishop of Daimlaig, he was ordained to the episcopacy on September 20, 2005, by Bishop Gerald R. Barnes. His episcopal motto, Omnibus Servire in Caritate (“To Serve All with Love”), reflects his pastoral vision that no one feel a stranger in the Church of San Bernardino. Bishop del Riego retired in December 2015.
The Coat of Arms of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Rutilio del Riego is centered on a cross dividing the shield into four quadrants, symbolizing Christ at the heart of every Christian and the foundation of apostolic discipleship. The upper left quadrant features a star representing the Blessed Virgin Mary, revered by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II as the “Star of Evangelization,” and also serves as a simplified reference to the United States, where Bishop del Riego exercised his episcopal ministry. The upper right quadrant depicts three interwoven hands, symbolizing fraternity, unity in diversity, and collaboration, and reflecting the charism and emblem of the Fraternity of the Diocesan Laborer Priests. The lower left quadrant shows the Cathedral of León, Spain—Bishop del Riego’s homeland—signifying continuity in apostolic faith; León, founded by the Romans in the second century, is also the resting place of St. Isidore, Bishop of Seville. The lower right quadrant portrays a fishing boat casting its nets, evoking Christ’s call to the first disciples to become “fishers of men” and underscoring the central importance of vocational ministry in the Church today.
The motto which translates “To Serve all with Love” further emphasizes Auxiliary Bishop Emerituss aspiration that “no one will feel a stranger in the Church of San Bernardino.
