Pope Leo XIV Sends a Migrant Bishop to Mar-a-Lago

In a move loaded with symbolism, the new bishop of Palm Beach — home to Mar-a-Lago — is a Queens immigrant priest known for defending migrants and the poor.

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Pope Leo XIV on Friday named Fr. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez — a priest from Corona, Queens — as the sixth Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida.

Rodríguez was born in the Dominican Republic, came to New York in 2009, and became a U.S. citizen in 2018. He leads Our Lady of Sorrows, a vibrant Queens parish of 17,000 mostly immigrant faithful.

Known for walking with migrants and the poor, he and his team have even helped families facing ICE deportation. Now Bishop-elect Rodríguez will shepherd about 260,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Palm Beach, which notably includes Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

Pope Leo’s decision to place an immigrant-rights champion in Trump’s backyard sends a clear message.

A ‘Thorn’ in Trump’s Side

Florida’s political climate can be unforgiving. There will be critics who label him just another “woke” Pope Leo appointee. There will be pressure to “stick to religion, not politics” — as if caring for immigrant families were not a core religious mandate.

But if the tenor of Rodríguez’s past ministry is any guide, he will navigate these waters with both courage and charity. He’s known for being approachable and joyful, a big man with an even bigger heart.

As I told CBS News today, the move obviously sends a message to the United States, and I predict Rodríguez “will be a thorn in the president’s side.”.

This appointment aligns with Pope Leo XIV’s pattern of challenging Trump-era policies on moral grounds: he has repeatedly urged U.S. leaders to treat migrants with compassion, not contempt.

Last month the U.S. bishops, echoing Leo, issued a rare “special message” condemning the Trump administration’s mass deportations and “vilification” of migrants.

Cardinal Blase Cupich, one of Leo’s key American allies and mentor to New York’s new Archbishop-designate Ron Hicks, recently warned that immigration raids “wound the soul of our city” and declared that “the Church stands with migrants.”

Leo has warned that at the final judgment Christ will ask, “Did you receive the foreigner?”

By naming an immigrant advocate to lead the church in Palm Beach, Pope Leo is practicing what he preaches. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago may be an oasis of privilege, but it will now fall under the pastoral care of a bishop who personifies Leo’s preferential option for the poor.

To zoom out: this is not just about Trump.

Florida itself is on the front lines of many issues Pope Leo cares about — from immigration to climate change (rising seas threaten Miami and Palm Beach) to the treatment of the poor.

By placing a justice-oriented bishop in Palm Beach and a reform-minded archbishop in New York, Leo is shoring up the Church’s capacity to speak credibly on all these issues. It’s a long game.

This week, the message is unmistakable: from Trump’s hometown of New York to his presidential enclave at Mar-a-Lago, the Church stands with the marginalized, not with power for power’s sake.

As America heads into 2026, Pope Leo is making it clear that the Church will follow Jesus’ teachings over any earthly agenda

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