Pope Creates Ecclesiastical Province Of Galveston-Houston; Accepts Resignation Of Abp. Flores In San Antonio And Names Bishop Jose Gomez As His Successor; Appoints New Bishops For Saginaw And La Crosse
WASHINGTON (December 29, 2004)—Pope John Paul II has created the new Ecclesiastical Province of Galveston-Houston and has elevated the See of Galveston-Houston to a Metropolitan See. Most Reverend Joseph A. Fiorenza, who has led the diocese for the past 20 years, will become the first Archbishop of Galveston-Houston. Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Galveston-Houston last January, will now become Coadjutor Archbishop.
The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Archbishop Patrick F. Flores, Archbishop of San Antonio since 1979, and appointed Auxiliary Bishop Jose H. Gomez of Denver as his successor.
Pope John Paul named Bishop Robert J. Carlson of Sioux Falls as Bishop of Saginaw. Bishop Carlson succeeds Bishop Kenneth E. Untener who died March 27, 2004.
The Pope appointed Auxiliary Bishop Jerome E. Listecki of Chicago as Bishop of La Crosse. He succeeds Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke who was appointed Archbishop of St. Louis on December 2, 2003.
Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, made the announcements.
The new Ecclesiastical Province of Galveston-Houston comprises the following suffragan Dioceses: Beaumont, Tyler, Austin, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville.
The Ecclesiastical Province of San Antonio now comprises the following suffragan Dioceses: Dallas, Fort Worth, Amarillo, Lubbock, San Angelo, El Paso, Laredo.
A province is a group of neighboring dioceses grouped together under a metropolitan (Archbishop) to foster relations among the bishops and those dioceses.
Joseph A. Fiorenza was born in Beaumont, Texas, January 25, 1931. He was appointed Bishop of San Angelo on September 4, 1979, and Bishop of Galveston-Houston, December 18, 1984.
Archbishop Fiorenza was President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference (now United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) from 1998 to 2001.
Daniel N. DiNardo was born in Steubenville, Ohio, on May 23, 1949. He was ordained a priest of the Pittsburgh diocese July 16, 1977. He was an official at the Vatican Congregation for Bishops from 1980 to 1990. He also served as Director of Villa Stritch, a residence for U.S. priests working at the Vatican and was a professor at the North American College.
Coadjutor Archbishop DiNardo was named Coadjutor Bishop of Sioux City in 1997 and became Bishop of Sioux City in 1998. He was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Galveston-Houston on January 16, 2004.
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston comprises 10 counties in the State of Texas. It has a Catholic population of about one million in a total population of 4.7 million.
Patrick A. Flores was born July 26, 1929, in Ganado, Texas. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Galveston (now Galveston-Houston) May 26, 1956. Named Titular Bishop of Italica and Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio March 16, 1970, he was appointed Bishop of El Paso March 12, 1978, and appointed Archbishop of San Antonio on August 8, 1979.
The new Archbishop of San Antonio, Jose H. Gomez, was born December 26, 1951, in Monterrey, Mexico. He studied at the National University of Mexico and the University of Navarre and was ordained a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei in August 15, 1978. He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Denver on January 23, 2001.
The Archdiocese of San Antonio has a Catholic population of about 667,000 in a total population of 1.9 million.
Robert J. Carlson, newly appointed Bishop of Saginaw, was born June 30, 1944, in Minneapolis. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis May 23, 1970. He was appointed Titular Bishop of Avioccala and Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis November 22, 1983, Coadjutor Bishop of Sioux Falls on January 7, 1994, and Bishop of Sioux Falls on March 21, 1995.
The Saginaw diocese comprises 11 counties in the State of Michigan. It has a Catholic population of about 132,000 in a total population of approximately 724,000.
The new Bishop of La Crosse, Jerome E. Listecki, was born in Chicago on March 12, 1949. He studied at Loyola University, Chicago, St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, De Paul University, Chicago, and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, May 14, 1975. He was named Titular Bishop of Nara and Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago on November 7, 2000.
The Diocese of La Crosse, comprising 19 counties in the State of Wisconsin, has a Catholic population of about 215,000 in a total population of approximately 848,000.