Archbishop Vásquez installs new Austin bishop

Bishop Garcia served at Humble parish in the 90s

Galveston-Houston Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez and Christophe Cardinal Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States, applaud Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, seated in the cathedra, or bishop’s chair, during his installation Mass at St. William Parish in Round Rock as the new head of the Diocese of Austin Sept. 18. (OSV News photo by Aaron Smith/Catholic Spirit)ROUND ROCK (OSV News) — Beaming with a massive smile, Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez processed through St. William Parish in Round Rock, greeting many familiar faces as he presided over the Sept. 18 Mass when he installed Bishop Daniel E. Garcia as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Austin.

It was in the same parish, where, more than 10 years ago, Bishop Garcia was ordained the first auxiliary bishop for the diocese he now leads.

Six months after Archbishop Vásquez received his own crosier and sat upon the cathedra, the bishop’s chair, in Houston at his own installation as Galveston-Houston’s ordinary, he walked with Christopher Cardinal Pierre, the papal nuncio to the U.S., in accompanying Bishop Garcia to his own cathedra of the Austin Diocese. Then, in an act full of symbolism and steeped in tradition, Archbishop Vásquez handed his own successor his crosier, indicating his new role as the chief shepherd of the souls in the Diocese of Austin.

Principal concelebrants at the more than two-hour-long bilingual installation Mass included Cardinal Pierre and Archbishop Emeritus Daniel Cardinal DiNardo. Other concelebrants included Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro and Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria. 

Bishop Garcia, born and raised in Central Texas, delivered an emotional homily to the congregation of 1,500 condemning racism and the harsh treatment of migrants as he was installed as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Austin on Sept. 18.

“We cannot stand by and say we love God and look away from our neighbor, even if they are here legally or not,” he said. “This hateful and vile rhetoric toward our immigrant brothers and sisters today is shameful. We will all be held accountable for our actions — or lack thereof.”

Bishop Garcia, who turned 65 on Aug. 30, was previously the bishop of Monterey, California, a post to which he was named by Pope Francis on Nov. 27, 2018, and installed Jan. 29, 2019. Before that, on Jan. 21, 2015, the pope appointed him as auxiliary bishop for Austin, and his episcopal ordination was on March 3, 2015.

He succeeds Archbishop Vásquez, who was Austin’s fifth bishop until he was named archbishop of Galveston-Houston in January and installed on March 25.

Reflecting on his time in California, he said, “It was there in California that I learned what it means to shepherd a local church. I will always carry you with me.”

Then he discussed his theme of describing a world “hungry for justice and mercy” while suffering from “hurt and misery.”

“We find them in our families, and our friends and co-workers,” he said. “We may not be able to prevent some of the hurt that is experienced, but we can make decisions about how we choose to respond to these events.”

“Most of us,” he continued, “are called to come down the mountain and to find God through the experiences of people we encounter along the journey of life. God is calling you and me to get our hands and feet dirty.”

To that end, “he calls us to work with people who are hurting and find themselves in situations that are very messy and complex,” the bishop said. “Why? I believe that God has created each and every one of us in His own image. But this image, over time, can become disfigured and perhaps undesirable. But to God, no one is undesirable.

“Jesus never stopped trying to soften hearts, regardless of where they may be or where they are from. We have to re-learn to have conversations where we can disagree with one another and still be able to sit at a table and enjoy each other’s presence, rather than look for what we do not like in the other.”

Bishop Garcia said his own experiences with racism and religious differences “have often been heartbreaking, yet real.” He called for “no tolerance for racism, prejudice or nonacceptance because one is different, or thinks differently than I do.”

“It is time for you and me,” he said, “to change the way we treat one another, especially the least among us. If the Church is to be one that is to grow, we must, first and foremost, make people feel welcome, and that they have gifts to be honored and treasured.”

Bishop Garcia was born on Aug. 20, 1960, in Cameron, which is about 30 miles southeast of Temple, and grew up there. He is the oldest of four children; he has three younger sisters.

He holds a bachelor’s degree and masters of divinity degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Austin on May 28, 1988, by Bishop John E. McCarthy, after which he earned a master’s degree in liturgical studies from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Bishop Garcia’s first assignments were as parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena, Cristo Rey, and St. Louis King of France, all parishes in Austin. In the mid-1990s, he served in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston at St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Humble and was the founding pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Austin. Beyond parish ministry, Bishop Garcia held several diocesan roles, including service in the vocation office, priests’ personnel board, and the presbyteral council, which he also chaired.

In 2014, he was appointed vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Austin Diocese by now-Archbishop Vásquez.

Bishop Garcia has served on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Communications and the Committee on Divine Worship. He is also a member of the board of directors for Catholic Relief Services.

The 25-county Austin Diocese in Central Texas has more than 678,000 Catholics spread across 21,000 square miles and contains 127 parishes, missions and university Catholic centers.