After weeks of treatment Mexicali Catholic Bishop Jose Isidro Guerrero died of Covid-19, the Diocese said.

In a prepared statement released by Vicar General Arnoldo Rascón, the Diocese said Bishop Guerrero died Wednesday.

Guerrero, 71, was first admitted to a hospital Jan. 13 with the Coronavirus.

The Bishop was eventually connected to a ventilator, later disconnected and connected once again until his death.

In a letter released Feb. 8, Bishop Guerrero thanked loc Catholics for their prayers.

Guerrero, the third Bishop of Mexicali, was born in 1951 in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico.

Bishop Guerrero studied in the Seminar of Guadalajara, becoming priest in 1977.

After having studied in Rome and Israel, Guerrero returned to the Diocese of Culiacan, Sinaloa, before being appointed Bishop of Mexicali in 1997 by then Pope John Paul II.

During his tenure, Guerrero founded a home for retired priests and divided the Diocese in geographic areas to better serve Catholics.

Right after the bishop’s arrival in the Diocese several priest orders left the city.

Although forbidden by law to take part in politics, Bishop Guerrero was an advocate against abortion and same-sex marriage. Recently, the Bishop was warned by the election court for promoting the vote for candidates who stood against these issues.

In 2003, former Phoenix priest Joseph Briceño, who Arizona authorities were looking for a sexual abuse case was found in a Villafontana Church. The priest was eventually arrested and deported to the US.

Briceño was admitted by Guerrero’s predecessor as the priest affirmed the cases were already settled.

Back in 2013, the Bishop’s bodyguard ​Antonio Ruiz Vargas was murdered just outside Guerrero’s home. The crime has been kept as a cold case since. The Diocese said funeral services will be announced in the next few days.