Jesús María de Jesús Moya

Jesús María de Jesús Moya was a Dominican Roman Catholic prelate who led the Diocese of San Francisco de Macorís for 28 years and earlier served as an auxiliary bishop of Santiago de los Caballeros. Born on 28 November 1934 in Sabana Angosta, Villa Tapia, then in La Vega Province, he entered the Pontifical Seminary of Santo Tomás de Aquino at 15 and prepared for the priesthood through humanities, philosophy and theology. He later took postgraduate courses in Madrid and Quito, returning to pastoral and seminary work in the Cibao.

Ordained a priest on 18 March 1961 in Santiago de los Caballeros Cathedral by Bishop Hugo Eduardo Polanco Brito, he worked as a cathedral vicar, school chaplain at the Politécnico Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes and the Escuela Normal Superior Emilio Prud'Homme, parish priest in Imbert in Puerto Plata Province, and as vice-rector and later rector of the San Pío X Minor Seminary in Licey al Medio. Those posts placed him at the centre of priestly formation in the north of the country and connected him to wider Latin American episcopal networks through CELAM-related activity.

On 13 April 1977 Pope Paul VI named him titular bishop of Maxita and auxiliary bishop of Santiago de los Caballeros. He was consecrated on 21 May 1977, with Cardinal Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas as principal consecrator, and spent seven years in diocesan pastoral and administrative work. On 20 April 1984 Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of San Francisco de Macorís, succeeding Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez. He took possession on 5 May 1984 and guided the northeastern diocese covering Duarte, María Trinidad Sánchez and Samaná for nearly three decades, with emphasis on Catholic education, priestly formation and parish life. He also served as military vicar general in 1993. During his episcopate he co-consecrated several Dominican bishops who later held major responsibilities.

Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation for age on 31 May 2012. Fausto Ramón Mejía Vallejo succeeded him, and Moya remained bishop emeritus, still linked to the life of the local Church. His episcopal motto was Siempre con la Iglesia (Always with the Church).

He died in San Francisco de Macorís on 4 November 2026, aged 91. The Conferencia del Episcopado Dominicano announced the death and organised funeral rites at Santa Ana Cathedral, with burial after the Friday exequial Mass. Diario Libre, Listín Diario, Noticias SIN and other Dominican outlets reported the news. Some local reports stated ages of 93 or 94; Catholic-Hierarchy and English Wikipedia record his birth as 28 November 1934. Across more than six decades of ministry he helped form clergy and communities across the Dominican north and northeast, leaving a reputation for steady pastoral leadership rather than public controversy.