Pope Francis appoints Joe Vásquez as Archbishop of Galveston-Houston in the United States

In an important move for the Catholic Church in Texas this Monday, Pope Francis appointed the former Bishop of Austin, Bishop Joe Vásquez, to replace Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, 75, as the new Archbishop of Galveston-Houston.

DiNardo, who was created a cardinal in 2007 and led the U.S. bishops’ conference as president from 2016 to 2019, turned 75 (the standard retirement age for Catholic bishops) in May 2024.

Vásquez, 67, returns to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, where he served as auxiliary bishop from 2002 to 2010. The bishop returns to the archdiocese almost exactly 15 years after moving 160 miles northwest to lead the Diocese of Austin.

The Mexican-American bishop also served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Tyler from November 2023 to December 2024, after Pope Francis removed Bishop Joseph Strickland.

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston serves 1.7 million Catholics in 146 parishes in 10 southeastern Texas counties. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States.

According to the archdiocese, the local Church is multicultural and its members come from all continents. Liturgies are celebrated in 14 languages.

Vásquez, whose seminary education included five years in Rome studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Angelo in 1984.

He is the oldest of six children raised in the small town of Stamford, in west-central Texas.

Vásquez has served as a consultant to the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and as lead bishop of Region X for the V National Encuentro for Hispanic/Latino Ministry (V Encuentro).

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA