The Most Reverend John C. Wester

Archbishop, Archdiocese of Santa Fe

Ecumenical Advocacy Days will feature Archbishop John Wester as part of the plenary on Militarism and Peacemaking on Wednesday, April 26.

Ordained as priest in 1976, Archbishop Wester currently serves in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe New Mexico, of the Roman Catholic Church. Over his decades-long ministry, he was previously assigned to both pastoral and Catholic school faculty and staff roles at various locations throughout California, and served as a Bishop in Utah, before moving to New Mexico in 2015.   

In a pastoral letter Archbishop Wester published in January 2021, he shares that “The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has a special role to play in advocating for nuclear disarmament given the presence of the Los Alamos and Sandia nuclear weapons laboratories and the nation’s largest repository of nuclear weapons at the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.” He has lifted his concerns about this issue, along with a growing number of supporters in the faith community, globally.

Archbishop Wester serves as a member of the Catholic Mutual Executive Board and the National Association of Catholic Chaplains Board, as Episcopal Moderator for National Association for Lay Ministry and as Episcopal Consultant for the U.S. Association of Catholic Priests.

He was educated in California, earning a B.A. from St. Patrick College in Mountainview, an M.Div. from St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, an M.A.S. from University of San Francisco and an M.A. from Holy Names College in Oakland.