VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and named as his successor, Bishop Eusebio Ramos Morales of Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Archbishop González, 76, has headed the San Juan Archdiocese since 1999. His successor, who is 73, has headed the Caguas Diocese since 2017.
The resignation and appointment were announced at the Vatican Aug. 6.
In a press release shared on the diocese’s social media, Archbishop Ramos shared the news of his appointment with the faithful in the Diocese of Caguas.
‘Missionary spirit and a spirit of service’
Saying that he initially received this new assignment to San Juan with surprise and “with the natural apprehension that accompanies any mission of great responsibility,” the new archbishop added that after deep discernment and trusting in divine providence, he “embraced it with a missionary spirit and a spirit of service.”
“On this Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we contemplate Christ as the Light of the world. To Him I entrust this new stage of my ministry, asking Him to grant me the grace to kindle faith, to heal and set hearts free, to proclaim the Good News, and to serve everyone with love and synodal missionary fraternity,” he wrote.
He also thanked every person in “this beloved Diocese of Caguas” who shared the mission of evangelization.
‘Will always carry in my heart’ Caguas Diocese
“Together, we have sought to strengthen our communion, renew our pastoral life, support our communities, and respond more closely to the suffering of the poor, migrants, the sick, and the most vulnerable,” he said. “I will always carry in my heart the parishes, communities, and people that make up this particular church in Caguas.”
Eusebio Ramos Morales was born Dec. 15, 1952, in Maunabo, Puerto Rico. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in sciences and biology from the University of Puerto Rico, he studied philosophy and theology at the Central University of Bayamón, with the Jesuits in Mexico and at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. He earned a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Caguas on June 3, 1983, by Bishop Enrique Hernández Rivera.
Positions he has held include assistant vicar; spiritual director and rector at the seminary in Caguas; a parish priest at Dulce Nombre de Jesús in Humacao; a professor of dogmatic theology at the major seminary; a parish priest at Santísimo Redentor; and moderator of the priests’ council.
Former bishop of Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao
Pope Benedict XVI appointed then-Father Ramos as bishop of the Diocese of Fajardo-Humacao on March 11, 2008. He was consecrated and installed by Archbishop González to head the newly created diocese on May 31, 2008.
Bishops Rubén González Medina and Józef Wesolowski served as his co-consecrators. On Feb. 2, 2017, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Caguas and he was installed Feb. 26.
Archbishop González submitted his resignation to the pope when he turned 75 on June 2, 2025, as required by canon law.
Born in New Jersey to Puerto Rican parents and raised in Puerto Rico, he was ordained a Franciscan priest on May 8, 1977. A former Boston auxiliary bishop, he was bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, when St. John Paul II appointed him as San Juan’s archbishop on March 26, 1999. He was installed on May 8 of that year.
Updated Aug. 6, 2026, at 5:32 p.m.
