Bishop Craig Loya
The Rt. Rev. Craig Loya is the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Minnesota, which comprises one hundred faith communities, spread across rural, suburban, and urban contexts, regularly worshipping in six languages. He was consecrated on June 6, 2020. Early in his time as bishop, he led a process of priority-setting for the diocese, together identifying four core areas of focus: discipleship–daily practices that help us follow Jesus as our whole way of life; faithful innovation–joining the spirit in new ways to proclaim and live out the Gospel; justice–becoming the beloved community; and congregational vitality–thriving faith communities of all sizes and in all places.
From these priorities, the diocese is working to cultivate a diverse church ecology by focusing on the basic practices of Christian discipleship. In 2024, Loya announced the creation of a new center for lay formation designed to deepen discipleship for every Minnesota Episcopalian, nurture leaders of existing congregations, and seed the future by planting new, intentionally small, lay led and clergy-supported communities.
Loya is a third generation Mexican-American. He was born and raised in North Platte, Nebraska, and graduated from Hastings College and Yale Divinity School.
He was ordained priest in the Diocese of South Dakota in 2003. His first ministry was serving four congregations on the Rosebud Reservation. He later served congregations in Massachusetts, on the bishop’s staff in the Diocese of Kansas, and as Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Omaha before being elected the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. He is married to Dr. Melissa Tubbs Loya, a Hebrew Bible scholar, and they have two children.Bishop Loya served as Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska from 2013-2020, and was the Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas from 2009-2013. He received his Master of Divinity from Yale University and a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in 2002. Joining Bishop Loya in Minnesota are his wife, Melissa, and their two children, Mari and Asa.
Christ Episcopal Church 