Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin
Diocese of Austin Dioecesis Austiniensis | |
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![]() St. Mary's Cathedral | |
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Location | |
Country | ![]() |
Territory | Counties of Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Brazos, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Coryell, Falls, Hamilton, Hays, Lampasas, Lee, Limestone, Llano, Mason, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Robertson, San Saba, Travis, Washington, and Williamson, and the part of Fayette County north of the Colorado River |
Ecclesiastical province | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston |
Statistics | |
Area | 57,424 km2 (22,172 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members) | (as of 2016) 3,093,312 571,335 (18.5%) |
Parishes | 123[1] |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | November 15, 1947 |
Cathedral | St. Mary's Cathedral, Austin |
Patron saint | Saint Mary |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Joe S. Vásquez Bishop of Austin |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Daniel DiNardo Archbishop of Galveston-Houston |
Map | |
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Website | |
austindiocese.org |
The Diocese of Austin (Latin: Dioecesis Austiniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church comprising 25 counties of Central Texas in the United States. The diocese includes 123 parishes and missions and six university Catholic student centers. The diocese stretches from West, Texas, (just north of Waco) in the north to San Marcos in the south to the Bryan - College Station area in the east to Mason in the west. Its largest metropolitan areas are Austin, Bryan – College Station, the Killeen – Temple – Fort Hood area and Waco. The diocese estimates over 625,000 Catholics live in the diocese.
As of 2021, it has 216 priests (168 active, 48 retired), 240 permanent deacons (160 active, 80 retired), approximately 30 brothers and 84 sisters serving in the diocese.[2] The Diocese of Austin is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
History[]
Pope Pius XII established the diocese on November 15, 1947. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Pope Benedict XVI announced on January 26, 2010, that he selected Joe S. Vazquez, previously auxiliary bishop and Vicar General/Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston as bishop for the Diocese of Austin.[3] On January 21, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Rev. Daniel E. Garcia as the first auxiliary bishop in the history of the diocese.[4] At the time of his appointment Fr. Garcia was serving as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia.
Bishops[]
Bishops of Austin[]
- Louis Joseph Reicher (1947-1971)
- Vincent Madeley Harris (1971-1985; Coadjutor 1971)
- John E. McCarthy (1985-2001)
- Gregory Michael Aymond (2001-2009; Coadjutor 2000-2001), appointed Archbishop of New Orleans
- Joe S. Vásquez (2010–present)
Former Auxiliary Bishop of Austin[]
- Daniel E. Garcia (2015–2019), appointed Bishop of Monterey
Other bishops who were priests of this diocese[]
- Patrick Zurek, appointed Bishop of Amarillo in 2008
- William Mulvey, appointed Bishop of Corpus Christi in 2010
- Michael J. Sis, appointed Bishop of San Angelo in 2013
- David A. Konderla, appointed Bishop of Tulsa in 2016
- William Albert Wack, CSC, appointed Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee in 2017
The diocesan coat of arms[]
The coat of arms of the diocese is based on an old coat of arms associated with early Austen or Austin families (in honor of Stephen F. Austin), adapted to express appropriate religious symbolism.[5]
Other facilities[]
The diocese operates the Cedarbrake Catholic Retreat Center in Belton, Texas.[6]
Education[]
- High schools
- Holy Trinity Catholic High School, Temple
- St. Louis Reicher Catholic High School, Waco
- St. Joseph Catholic High School, Bryan
- St. Michael's Catholic Academy, Austin
- San Juan Diego Catholic High School, Austin
- St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School, Austin
- St. Mary's Catholic School, Taylor
Financial status[]
The Central Administrative Office of the Diocese had revenues of $52.4 million for the fiscal year ending June 2021.[7]
References[]
- ^ "Diocese of Austin Fact Sheet" (PDF). Diocese of Austin.
- ^ "Diocese of Austin Fact Sheet" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "Pope names Vasquez to be bishop in Austin". The Brownsville Herald. Associated Press. January 26, 2010. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
- ^ Beach, Patrick (January 21, 2015). "Pope appoints auxiliary bishop for growing Austin diocese". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
- ^ "About The Diocesan Coat of Arms - Catholic Diocese of Austin Texas". 19 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ^ "About Us". Diocese of Austin.
- ^ "Financial Statements with Supplementary Information" (PDF). Diocese of Austin. June 30, 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
External links[]
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin
- Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Galveston–Houston
- Christian organizations established in 1947
- Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
- Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States
- 1947 establishments in Texas
- Organizations based in Austin, Texas