Juan Alfredo Arzube

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Juan Alfredo Azrube
Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles Titular Bishop of Civitate
Church	Catholic
Archdiocese	Los Angeles
Other post(s)	Titular Bishop of Civitate
Orders
Ordination	May 5, 1954 by Andrew Eugene Bellisario
Consecration	March 25, 1971 by Timothy Manning
Personal details
Born	(1918-06-01)June 1, 1918 Guayaquil, Ecuador
Died	December 27, 2007(2007-12-27) (aged 89) West Los Angeles, California, US
Nationality	Ecuadorian
Education	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute St. John's Seminary

Juan Alfredo Arzube (June 1, 1918 – December 27, 2007) was an Ecuadorian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California from 1971 to 1993.

In 2007, the archdiocese settled a sexual abuse allegation against Arzube.

Early life

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Juan Arzube was born on June 1, 1918, in Guayaquil, Ecuador to Dr. Juan B. and Maria Arzube. The younger Juan spent time in the United Kingdom before his family moved back to Ecuador. He completed high school and college there, then attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. After receiving a degree in civil engineering, Arzube moved back to Ecuador to work in his field.^[1]

Arzube moved to Los Angeles in 1944 to work in the film industry, dubbing American films into Spanish. He dubbed the voice of actor Peter Lorre in some films as well as that of the Fox character in the 1946 Disney film Song of the South.^[1] After attending a Catholic retreat in Malibu, California, Arzube decided to become a priest. He entered the St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California.^[1]

Priesthood

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Arzube was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on May 5, 1954 by Archbishop Andrew Eugene Bellisario.^[2] Between 1954 and 1988, Arzube served as an assistant pastor at the following parishes in Southern California:

St. Agnes, Los Angeles
Resurrection, Los Angeles
Ascension, Los Angeles
Nativity, El Monte^[3]^[1]

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

[edit]

On February 9, 1971, Arzube was appointed titular bishop of Civitate and auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles by Pope Paul VI. Arzube was consecrated on March 25, 1971 at St. Vibiana Cathedral in Los Angeles by Cardinal Timothy F. Manning. ^[2]

Arzube in 1980 lobbied the archdiocese to reinstate a priest who had been suspended after a second allegation of sexually abusing a minor. He stated “How many priests are there completely guiltless over a period of 10 years?” Arzube was also appointed as pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in East Los Angeles. In 1986, he became the head of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region of the archdiocese. He was also named as the episcopal vicar for the Hispanic community.^[3]^[1]

Retirement and legacy

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Arzube retired as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles on September 7, 1993.

In 2003, a man alleged that Arzube had sexually abused him as an 11-year-old boy between 1975 to 1976 at St. Alphonsus. In a legal deposition, Arzube denied the allegation, but admitted being alone with altar boys in his rectory apartment on multiple occasions. He died in West Los Angeles on December 27, 2007.^[2]In 2007 as part of a massive settlement with survivors of child sexual abuse, the archdiocese settled a civil lawsuit naming Arzube.^[4]

Notes

[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Bishop Juan Arzube Dies at 89, Tidings, January 11, 2008". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bishop Juan Alfredo Arzube [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "Bishop Accountability". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
^ "Arzube, Juan (Bp.)".

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles

v t e Bishops of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Bishop of Two Californias	Francisco García Diego y Moreno
Bishop of Monterey	Joseph Sadoc Alemany
Bishops of Monterey–Los Angeles	Thaddeus Amat y Brusi Francisco Mora y Borrell George Thomas Montgomery Thomas James Conaty John Joseph Cantwell
Bishop of Los Angeles–San Diego	John Joseph Cantwell
Archbishops of Los Angeles	John Joseph Cantwell James Francis Cardinal McIntyre Timothy Cardinal Manning Roger Cardinal Mahony José Horacio Gómez
Auxiliary bishops, current	Alejandro Dumbrigue Aclan Marc Vincent Trudeau Albert Bahhuth Matthew Elshoff Brian Nunes Slawomir Szkredka
Auxiliary bishops, former	Juan Alfredo Arzube Alden John Bell Stephen Blaire Robert Barron Joseph Brennan Thomas John Curry Edward W. Clark Joseph Patrick Dougherty Carl Anthony Fisher William Robert Johnson William Levada Joseph Thomas McGucken Donald William Montrose Manuel Duran Moreno David O'Connell Armando Xavier Ochoa Sylvester Donovan Ryan Alexander Salazar Joseph Martin Sartoris Thaddeus Anthony Shubsda Oscar Azarcon Solis John J. Ward Gerald Eugene Wilkerson Gabino Zavala George Patrick Ziemann
Priests who became bishops	Michael Patrick Driscoll Justin Rigali
Catholicism portal

v t e Churches in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Archdiocese	Cathedral Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, former Cathedral of Saint Vibiana
Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region	Deanery 13 (Westside) Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Pacific Palisades St. Monica Catholic Church, Santa Monica St. Augustine Catholic Church, Culver City St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, Brentwood St Paul the Apostle Church, Westwood St. Timothy Catholic Church, Los Angeles Church of the Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills St. Ambrose Church, West Hollywood Saint Victor Catholic Church, West Hollywood Deanery 14 (Central LA/Hollywood) Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Hollywood Cathedral Chapel, Los Angeles Christ the King Catholic Church, Los Angeles St. Basil Catholic Church, Wilshire St. Brendan Catholic Church, Los Angeles Deanery 15 (Downtown/South) Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles Precious Blood Catholic Church St. Cecilia Catholic Church St. Patrick Catholic Church St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church St. Vincent de Paul Church Deanery 16 (South LA/Inglewood) St. John Chrysostom Church, Inglewood St. Odilia Church, Los Angeles Ascension Catholic Church, Los Angeles Spanish mission La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (Note: This is not a Spanish mission, but rather, a parish church.)
San Fernando Pastoral Region	Deanery 5 (West San Fernando Valley) Cathedral of St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, Sherman Oaks Our Lady of Grace, Encino Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Northridge Our Lady of the Valley, Canoga Park St. Bernardine of Siena Church, Woodland Hills St. Bridget of Sweden Catholic Church, Van Nuys St. Catherine of Siena Church, Reseda St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church and School, Encino St. Euphrasia, Granada Hills St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church, Sherman Oaks St. John Eudes Church, Chatsworth St. John the Baptist de la Salle Church, Granada Hills St. Joseph the Worker Church, Winnetka St. Mel, Woodland Hills Deanery 6 (Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Eagle Rock) Holy Family Catholic Church, Glendale Incarnation Catholic Church and School, Glendale Deanery 7 (Central San Fernando Valley and Burbank) Guardian Angel Church, Pacoima Jesus Sacred Heart Syriac Catholic Church, North Hollywood Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Pacoima Mission San Fernando Rey de España, Mission Hills Our Lady of Peace Church, North Hills Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Sun Valley St. Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Church, San Fernando St. Anne Melkite Catholic Cathedral, North Hollywood St. Charles Borromeo Church, North Hollywood St. Didacus Catholic Church, Sylmar St. Elizabeth Church and School, Van Nuys St. Ferdinand Catholic Church, San Fernando St. Finbar Catholic Church and School, Burbank St. Francis Xavier Church, Burbank St. Genevieve Catholic Church, Panorama City St. Jane de Chantal Catholic Church, North Hollywood St. Patrick Catholic Church, North Hollywood St Paul Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church, North Hollywood St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, Burbank Santa Rosa Catholic Church, San Fernando Deanery 8 (Santa Clarita Valley and Lancaster/Palmdale) Blessed Junipero Serra Catholic Church, Lancaster
San Gabriel Pastoral Region	Deanery 9 (East LA, Boyle Heights, City Terrace) All Saints Catholic Church, Los Angeles Assumption Catholic Church, Los Angeles Deanery 10 (Pasadena, Altadena, San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Montebello, Alhambra) All Souls Catholic Church, Alhambra Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, Pasadena St. Andrew's Catholic Church, Pasadena Mission San Gabriel Parish, San Gabriel Deanery 11 (Arcadia, Covina, Glendora, Monrovia, La Puente) Annunciation Catholic Church, Arcadia Deanery 12 (San Dimas, Claremont, Pomona, Diamond Bar, La Puente, Valinda, Walnut)
San Pedro Pastoral Region	Deanery 17 (Downey, Compton, Huntington Park, Lynwood) Deanery 18 (Whittier, La Mirada, Pico Rivera, Norwalk) Beatitudes of Our Lord Catholic Church, La Mirada Holy Family Catholic Church, Artesia Deanery 19 (South Bay and San Pedro) American Martyrs Catholic Church, Manhattan Beach SS. Peter and Paul's Church, Wilmington Deanery 20 (Long Beach)
Santa Barbara Pastoral Region	Deanery 1 (Lompoc, Solvang, Santa Maria) La Purisima Mission, Lompoc Mission Santa Inés, Solvang Deanery 2 (Santa Barbara) Santa Barbara Mission, Santa Barbara Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Santa Barbara Deanery 3 (Oxnard, Ventura, Ojai, Fillmore, Santa Paula) Mission San Buenaventura, Ventura Deanery 4 (Simi Valley, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo) Blessed Junipero Serra Catholic Church, Camarillo

v t e Education in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Archdiocese	Seminaries St. John's Seminary
Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region	Universities and colleges Loyola Marymount University Mount St. Mary's University High schools Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto HS, Harvard Heights Cathedral HS (Boys) Immaculate Heart HS, Los Feliz (Girls) Loyola HS, Harvard Heights (Boys) Marymount HS, Bel Air (Girls) Notre Dame Acad. (Girls) St. Bernard HS, Playa del Rey St. Mary's Acad., Inglewood (Girls) St. Monica Preparatory, Santa Monica Verbum Dei Jesuit HS, Watts (Boys) High schools, closed Daniel Murphy HS, Los Angeles Mount Carmel HS, Los Angeles
San Fernando Pastoral Region	High schools Bishop Alemany HS, Mission Hills Chaminade HS, West Hills Crespi Carmelite HS, Encino Flintridge Sacred Heart Acad., La Cañada Flintridge Louisville HS, Woodland Hills Notre Dame HS, Sherman Oaks Paraclete HS, Lancaster Providence HS, Burbank St. Francis HS, La Cañada Flintridge St. Genevieve HS, Panorama City High schools, closed Bellarmine-Jefferson HS, Burbank Our Lady of Corvallis HS, Studio City Holy Family HS, Glendale St. John Paul II STEM Acad., Burbank Villa Cabrini Acad., Burbank
San Gabriel Pastoral Region	High schools Ramona Convent Sec., Alhambra St. Lucy's Priory HS, Glendora Bishop Amat Memorial HS, La Puente Damien HS, La Verne Salesian HS, Los Angeles Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary HS, Montebello La Salle College Prep., Pasadena Mayfield Senior, Pasadena St. Monica Acad., Montrose Pomona Catholic HS, Pomona San Gabriel Mission HS, San Gabriel Alverno Heights Acad., Sierra Madre (formerly Alverno HS)
San Pedro Pastoral Region	High schools St. John Bosco HS, Bellflower St. Pius X-St. Matthias Acad., Downey Junipero Serra HS, Gardena St. Joseph High School, Lakewood St. Anthony HS, Long Beach Don Bosco HS, Rosemead Mary Star of the Sea HS, San Pedro St. Paul HS, Santa Fe Springs Bishop Montgomery HS, Torrance Universities and colleges, closed Marymount College, Palos Verdes High schools, closed Queen of Angels Acad., Compton
Santa Barbara Pastoral Region	Universities and colleges St. John's Seminary, Camarillo Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula High schools Bishop García Diego HS, Santa Barbara La Reina HS, Thousand Oaks St. Bonaventure HS, Ventura St. Joseph HS, Santa Maria Santa Clara HS, Oxnard Villanova Prep., Ojai

Hospitals and cemeteries in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Our Lady of the Angels
Pastoral Region

Hospitals	Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica
Cemeteries	Crypt Mausoleum of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City

San Fernando
Pastoral Region