WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston and named as his successor Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Texas.
Cardinal DiNardo has headed the Texas archdiocese since 2006, and a year later Pope Benedict XVI elevated him to the College of Cardinals. On May 23, 2024, he turned 75, the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope. The cardinal is a former president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Archbishop Vásquez, 67, has headed the Diocese of Austin since 2010. Additionally, he served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas from November 2023 to December 2024.
The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington Jan. 20 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
"I am delighted by the appointment of Bishop Vásquez as the next Archbishop of Galveston-Houston," said Cardinal DiNardo in a statement. "I give gratitude to the Holy Father for naming an experienced, prayerful, and humble Shepherd to lead this local Church."
His successor expressed gratitude to God "for bestowing this responsibility on me and I am humbled by this appointment. With God's grace, I pledge to serve the needs of this local church to the best of my ability."
Archbishop Vásquez will be installed March 25 at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston. Of Mexican American descent, the archbishop is one of 26 active Hispanic Catholic bishops in the U.S. His episcopal motto is "Sigueme," Spanish for "Follow me," in reference to Jesus' words to Peter in the Gospel of St. John.
Pope Benedict appointed him the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Austin on Jan. 26, 2010. The central Texas diocese is home to more than 700,000 Catholics across 25 counties.
Before his appointment to Austin, the newly named archbishop was an auxiliary of the archdiocese he will now head. He was named auxiliary bishop of Galveston-Houston Nov. 30, 2001, by St. John Paul II and ordained early the following year. At the time of his episcopal ordination, he was the youngest bishop in the United States.
The eldest of six children, Joe Steve Vásquez was born in Stamford, Texas, July 9, 1957. He attended the University of St. Thomas in Houston, where he earned a bachelor's degree in theology, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a licentiate in sacred theology. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Angelo, Texas, in 1984.
After his ordination, Bishop Vásquez served from 1985-87 as associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Odessa, Texas, and from 1987-97 as pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Fort Stockton, Texas. In 1997, he was named pastor of St. Joseph Parish in San Angelo, where he served until his appointment as a Galveston-Houston auxiliary.
At a Jan. 20 press conference, Cardinal DiNardo said the archdiocese is "joyful" about welcoming back the newly named archbishop "to the local church where he was ordained a bishop."
"I and the many priests, deacons, women and men religious, and lay faithful who make up this incredibly diverse local church assure Archbishop-designate Vásquez of our love, our prayers and support as he begins his new ministry among us," the cardinal said.
Before taking questions, Archbishop Vásquez first thanked Cardinal DiNardo "for the many ways you have been a true shepherd and provided this local church with wise leadership and excellent service. Please know of my profound esteem for you. ... I will depend on your counsel to help me serve the people of this vibrant and growing church."
He said his first action as Galevston-Houston's new shepherd will be to "do a lot of listening ... and find out exactly what's taking place now." A lot has changed in the 15 years he has been in Austin, he noted. "It's a vibrant church, it's growing, it's dynamic. Much has taken place in it, so I'm excited about that."
Asked about his priorities for his new role, Archbishop Vásquez said they'll be the same as his priorities in the Austin Diocese: families, young adults and vocations.
"Families to me are always critical and essential, because the way the family is continues to strengthen who we are as a church, as a society. ... So if the family is strong, we're going to be strong as a society," he explained.
As for young people, he said it is "essential that we keep them close to the church. It's our responsibility to attract them so that they're able to live out their faith in a lively way dynamic way." Finally, he said, it is important "we continue to promote vocations to the priesthood because they're necessary in continuing the service to the people of God, the sacraments, the preaching, the living out their faith."
Archbishop Vásquez also recalled the late Archbishop Fiorenza, who ordained him as a priest, then years later as a bishop. "He was truly a spiritual father to me and continues to be a source of inspiration. I think he had a hand in this (appointment) somehow."
The new archbishop also thanked the priests, men and women religious, deacons, seminarians and lay faithful of the Austin Diocese for their "love, support and prayers." "I will always carry you in my heart," he added.
Cardinal DiNardo told reporters he will remain in the Houston area in retirement -- which, he noted, does not mean he is retired as a cardinal. "That holds on until I'm 80," he said, adding that he will be "very happy" to assist his successor in whatever he asks him to do. "Except to go to meetings," he added with a laugh.
An Ohio native who was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, then-Archbishop DiNardo succeeded Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza as Galveston-Houston's shepherd on Feb. 28, 2006. Two years earlier he had been named coadjutor bishop (later coadjutor archbishop) of Galveston-Houston in January 2004.
On Dec. 29, 2004, St. John Paul elevated the Diocese of Galveston-Houston to the status of a metropolitan archdiocese, creating a second archdiocese in Texas. Archbishop Fiorenza was named the first archbishop of Galveston-Houston, and then-Bishop DiNardo became the coadjutor archbishop.
Before his Texas appointment, Cardinal DiNardo was the bishop of Sioux City, Iowa. He was appointed coadjutor bishop of Sioux City and ordained there as a bishop in October 1997. As his episcopal motto he adopted: "Ave Crux Spes Unica," meaning "Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope." He succeeded retiring Bishop Lawrence D. Soens as head of the diocese in November 1998.
The Galveston-Houston Archdiocese covers over 8,880 square miles and has over 2 million Catholics out of a total population of 7.1 million.
