The Rt. Rev. Victor M. Rivera, who was Bishop of San Joaquin from 1968-1988, died Dec. 23 in California. He was 89.

Born Oct. 30, 1916, Bishop Rivera followed his parents and four uncles into the ministry. His father, the Rev. Victor Rivera was an Episcopal priest in Puerto Rico until his retirement in 1952, but it was the missionary work of his mother, Filomena Toro which particularly inspired him. She died when he was a teenager and soon after her death he left his native Puerto Rico to study, graduating from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif., in 1944.

Bishop Rivera spent his entire ordained ministry in San Joaquin. Prior to 1961 San Joaquin was organized as a missionary district. After ordination, Bishop Rivera served as rector of St. Paul’s, Visalia, Calif., from 1945 until he became the first elected diocesan Bishop of San Joaquin in 1968.

“He was theologically very conservative, but very compassionate and liberal regarding outreach,” said his successor as Bishop of San Joaquin, the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield in an interview with the The Fresno Bee. “He was one of the first Spanish-speaking priests of the Episcopal Church in the United States.”

Throughout his episcopacy and during his retirement, Bishop Rivera remained unconvinced that God had called women to ordained orders, but he participated in the Jan. 22, 2005 consecration of his oldest daughter, the Rt. Rev. Bavi Edna “Nevi” Rivera as Bishop suffragan of Olympia. He is also survived by two other daughters, Hilda and Maria. His wife, Barbara died last April.

A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Jan. 14 at St. Paul’s, Visalia.

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