16/09/2026
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Spanish-born member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), Mons. Mario León Dorado, who has been serving as Apostolic Prefect of the Western Sahara, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Rabat Archdiocese in Morocco.
The Papal appointment of Mons. Dorado as Coadjutor Archbishop, giving him “the right of succession” in line with the Code of Canon Law Can. 403 §3, was announced by the Vatican on Saturday, September 12, and made public by the Holy See Press Office the same day.
The Archbishop-elect has been serving as Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat since August, after the Local Ordinary, Cristóbal Cardinal López Romero, temporarily withdrew from all public and pastoral activities while a preliminary investigation — opened by the Church following allegations of inappropriate behavior toward adult women — was underway.
In a message to the people of God, Mons. Dorado said he received the appointment with joy and humility, acknowledging both the weight of the new responsibility and his trust in God’s call.
“It is with joy, but also with ‘fear and trembling,’ that I receive the news of my appointment as coadjutor bishop of this dear sister Church,” the Archbishop-elect said in the message.
Mons. Dorado said he accepted the appointment “with trust in the Lord who has called me and with a deep sense of humility,” while asking the Catholic community of Rabat to accompany him with their prayers.
“I ask, of course, for your prayers, and I entrust myself to them,” he said, explaining that his acceptance of the appointment was rooted in his conviction that the call came from God and through the Church.
“If I have accepted this appointment, it is because I firmly believe that it is God and his Church who are asking me to undertake this service and ministry,” Mons. Dorado said.
The Archbishop-elect placed his future ministry under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, expressing his desire to serve the Church and the people entrusted to his pastoral care.
“Thus, I place myself at your service and, I hope, at the service of the Holy Spirit who works in each person, who goes before us, who works within us and who brings every good work to completion,” he said.
More: https://www.aciafrica.org/news/24097/pope-leo-xiv-appoints-spanish-born-oblate-missionary-as-coadjutor-archbishop-of-moroccos-rabat-archdiocese