Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico - The Right Reverend Ricardo Joel Gomez Osnaya, Bishop of the Western Diocese, Anglican Church of Mexico, will be visiting the Anglican Parish of Christ Church by the Sea in Puerto Vallarta at 10:00 am on June 17, 2018.

Bishop Gomez will officially dedicate and consecrate the new church sanctuary located in the CenterCourtyard Palapa at Plaza Genovesa, Ave. Francisco Medina Ascensio 1215. The Parish moved to this location in 2017 from their previous facility by the airport.

Christ Church by the Sea was established in 1991 by local Christians to provide English services and was accepted and registered as a Mission of the Anglican Church of Mexico by Bishop Melchor Saucedo. Ten years ago the Mission of Christ Church by the Sea was granted Parish status at the Diocesan Synod by Bishop Lino Rodriquez.

Bishop Gomez is a native of Guadalajara, Jalisco and a third-generation Anglican in a family of eleven brothers. His father and older brother were priests; his paternal grandfather gave his life defending his beliefs in Mexico's tragic Cristero War. He has served his church since childhood and followed that dedication through studies at seminary to become an ordained priest of the Anglican Church of Mexico on December 3, 2005.

After serving the diocese in many capacities, in 2012 he was appointed Dean of the Cathedral of San Pablo Apostol in the city of Zapopan, Jalisco. Bishop Gomez was elevated to the position of Bishop of the Western Diocese on April 13, 2018 with his consecration by the Most Rev. Francisco Manuel Moreno, Presiding Bishop of The Anglican Church of Mexico. Bishop Gomez and his wife, Erica Martinez Andrade, have three children, Andrea, Sara Victoria and Isaac Joel.

The Anglican Church is the oldest non-Roman Catholic Church in the country. In 1995, after many years of affiliation with the Episcopal Church and the province of the United States, it became known as the "Anglican Church of Mexico" and was recognized as an autonomous province of the Worldwide Anglican Communion.

Father Michael Schirmacher and the congregation of Christ Church by the Sea are pleased to announce that Bishop Gomez will administer the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation and receive those already confirmed in other denominations into the Anglican Church.

All are invited to join us on this joyous occasion. For more information, please visit christchurchbythesea.org.