Reference style The Most Reverend Religious style Monsignor Name Joe Vasquez | Spoken style Your Excellency Posthumous style not applicable | |
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Joe Stephen Vásquez (born July 9, 1957) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin on January 26, 2010. He was previously the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
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Biography
Joe Vásquez, who is of Mexican American descent, was born in Stamford, Texas, to Juan (b. 1933) and Elvira Vásquez (d. 2005). His father, a veteran of the Korean War, dropped out of school in the second grade to support his family and later made a living as a mechanic. The oldest of six children, he has three brothers, Robert, Samuel, and James; and two sisters, Cynthia and Consuelo. He attended public schools in Stamford and Abilene. From 1976 to 1980, he studied at St. Mary Seminary and the University of St. Thomas, from where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Theology. He then furthered his studies at the Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from 1980 to 1985.
Vásquez was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph Fiorenza on June 30, 1984. He then served as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Church in Odessa until 1987, when he became pastor of St. Joseph Church in Fort Stockton. From 1997 to 2002, he served as pastor of St. Joseph Church in San Angelo.
On November 30, 2001, Vásquez was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston and Titular Bishop of Cova by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on January 23, 2002 from Archbishop Fiorenza, with Archbishop Patrick Flores and Bishop Michael Pfeifer, O.M.I., serving as co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal motto: "Sigueme."
On 26 January 2010 he was appointed as bishop of Austin by Pope Benedict XVI filling the vacancy left by Gregory Michael Aymond who was appointed archbishop of New Orleans. The diocese is home to some 41 seminarians and a Catholic population of 500,000, twice what it was two decades ago. It is expected to double again in size over the next 15 to 20 years. Bishop Vásquez took possession of the see on 8 March. The appointment followed early December's appointment of Daniel E. Flores as Bishop of Brownsville and the 18 January appointment of Msgr. William Mulvey, as Bishop of Corpus Christi.