HOUSTON (LifeSiteNews) — After serving as the interim apostolic administrator of Bishop Joseph Strickland’s Diocese of Tyler, Bishop Joseph Vásquez has been appointed to lead the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in what is viewed as a notable promotion.
As of January 20, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo’s resignation as archbishop of Galveston-Houston was accepted by the Pope, and Bishop Vásquez appointed to lead the see.
DiNardo, now 75, was named coadjutor of the archdiocese in 2004 and assumed leadership in 2006. He had been president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) between 2016 and 2019.
The 67-year-old Vásquez has led the Diocese of Austin since 2010, and before that was an auxiliary in Galveston-Houston from 2002 though 2010.
But his more recent actions are particularly noteworthy given the upheaval that has been seen in the life of Texas Catholics in recent years.
After Pope Francis summarily removed Bishop Joseph Strickland from the Diocese of Tyler in November 2023, Vásquez was named as administrator of the diocese. He held this position until Bishop John Kelly was appointed as the new ordinary for the Diocese of Tyler in December 2024.
Vásquez’s appointment to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is being posited by some as a sign of Pope Francis’ favor to him in light of his role in the handling of the Tyler diocese in the past 14 months.
During Vásquez’s administration of the Diocese of Tyler, he ushered in the Holy See’s restrictions on the traditional Mass that was celebrated at the cathedral.
READ: Latin Mass at cathedral in Bishop Strickland’s former diocese to be canceled
As outlined in his letter to the diocese, Vásquez inquired with the Vatican about how to implement Traditionis Custodes in Tyler. The Congregation for Divine Worship ruled that the traditional Mass at the diocesan cathedral must cease while allowing the Fraternity of St. Peter to continue their activities in Tyler.
Indeed, some months before, Vásquez had also overseen restrictions on the traditional Mass in his own diocese of Austin. As of March 2024, he put an end to the Latin Mass that had been offered in the cathedral since 2007, and other celebrations of the ancient liturgy further afield from Austin itself were spared.
Tyler is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, and at the time of Strickland’s removal, Cardinal DiNardo stated that the visitation into Strickland’s running of the Diocese of Tyler had concluded that the “continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible.”
“After months of careful consideration by the Dicastery for Bishops and the Holy Father, the decision was reached that the resignation of Bishop Strickland should be requested,” DiNardo wrote at the time of Strickland’s requested resignation in November 2023.
READ: Former USCCB head: Apostolic visitation judged it ‘not feasible’ for Bishop Strickland to remain
At that time, no results of the infamous apostolic visitation had been released to the public. Speaking to John-Henry Westen, Strickland stated that “I stand by all the things that were listed as complaints against me. I know I didn’t implement Traditionis Custodes (Pope Francis’ decree restricting the Traditional Latin Mass) because I can’t starve out part of my flock.”
DiNardo had himself implemented restrictions on the traditional Mass after Traditionis Custodes – and Strickland later commented that his own removal from the Diocese of Tyler was heavily linked to not restricting the Latin Mass.
With Vásquez taking over the archdiocese and Bishop Kelly about to be officially installed in Tyler, a long-lasting change has been effected by Francis for Texas Catholics in the eastern part of the state. A replacement is now needed in Austin, but with Vásquez and Kelly age 67 and 68, respectively, they are unlikely to be moved before they submit their mandatory resignation letters at age 75.