The move made by Pope Leon after the controversies with Donald Trump. Former undocumented migrant appointed bishop in the US

Pope Leo XIV on Friday nominated Evelio Menjivar-Ayala for the position of bishop of the American state of West Virginia, according to the announcement made by the Vatican, a few weeks after the exchange of words between the leader of the Catholic Church and the president of the United States, AFP notes.

Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, 56, is currently an auxiliary bishop in Washington. Born in El Salvador, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1990, according to a biography on his current diocese's website.

Menjivar-Ayala had spoken in a series of interviews about being born into poverty and fleeing conflict in his native country to take refuge in the US.

He was initially detained in Mexico, but paid a bribe to be released and crossed the border into Tijuana, according to revelations made by him in an interview last year.

He was ordained in 2004, and in 2023 he became a bishop.

Now he was nominated by Leo XIV, the first American pope in history, for the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese in West Virginia.

Exchange of lines between Pope Leon and Donald Trump

Last month, the Supreme Pontiff slammed Trump's threat to destroy Iran as “unacceptable” and urged Americans to ask congressmen to “work for peace.” The Pope also criticized the treatment of migrants in the US, which is “extremely disrespectful”.

In response, the US president said of the pope that he is “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”.

Trump's remarks about Pope Leo were condemned even by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, considered an ally of the current administration in Washington: “I consider President Trump's words about the Holy Father unacceptable. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and condemn all forms of war.”

The pope later said it was not “in his interest” to engage in a debate with the US president.