Monterey Bishop Garcia passes away after battle with Alzheimer’s

Catholic Diocese of Monterey Bishop Richard Garcia has died, according to church officials.

Garcia had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and passed away this morning. He was 71 years old.

Bishop Garcia was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the 4th ordinary bishop of the Diocese of Monterey in 2006.

In his message to those with the diocese, Garcia wrote, “We rejoice in this day in our history and let us pray for one another, for it is in Christ that ‘we do live and move and have our being.'”