Beloved,

With heavy hearts I write to inform you that the Rev. Juan Acosta died early this morning. He suffered a heart attack yesterday while riding his bicycle.

Father Acosta was born March 15, 1942 in Morelos, Sonora, México. He graduated from St. Mary's University with a BS in psychology-sociology, and from the Seminary of the Southwest with a certificate of special studies. He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in 1978. He served as the assistant priest at Santa Fe, San Antonio prior to arriving in San Diego. He was the first Hispanic missioner in our diocese. Hardly a congregation exists in the Diocese of San Diego that has not experienced the warm and caring ministry of Father Acosta. 

He was known throughout the Episcopal Church as a leader in Hispanic ministry development. In that capacity he held important positions on the national, provincial and regional levels. He knew how to work with all sorts of people and was able to turn good ideas into accomplished tasks. He served as the Hispanic missioner for this diocese for 16 years, during which time he helped build several Spanish and bilingual congregations, most significantly at St. Matthew's, National City; St. Mary's, Imperial Beach; St. John's, Indio; and Santa Rosa del Mar, Desert Shores. As a retired priest, Father Acosta exercised ministerial rites in many congregations and enjoyed creating oil paintings for the remainder of his life. 

Service details to follow as they become available.

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. James R. Mathes
Bishop 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.

And let light perpetual shine upon her.

And may the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.