Vatican City, Jan 20, 2025 / 08:00 am

In an important move for the Catholic Church in Texas on Monday, Pope Francis named Austin Bishop Joe Vásquez to replace 75-year-old Cardinal Daniel DiNardo as head of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

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

The 67-year-old Vásquez is returning to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, where he served as an auxiliary bishop from 2002–2010. The bishop is coming back to the archdiocese almost exactly 15 years after moving 160 miles to the 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 across 10 counties in southeastern Texas. Houston is the fourth-largest city in the U.S.

According to the archdiocese, the local Church is multicultural, with members coming from every continent. Liturgies are held in 14 different 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 grew up the oldest of six children in the small town of Stamford in west-central Texas.

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