Bishop Joe S. Vásquez

Bishop Joe S. Vásquez was installed as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Austin on March 8, 2010. On January 23, 2002, Bishop Vásquez was ordained and installed as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

Bishop Vásquez was born July 9, 1957, in Stamford, Texas, to Juan and Elvira Vásquez (deceased). He is the eldest of six children with three brothers: Robert Vásquez, Samuel Vásquez (deceased) and James Vásquez; and two sisters: Cynthia Martínez and Consuelo Garza.

He attended Stamford and Abilene public schools and then studied theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston from 1976 to 1980. He attended the Gregorian University, North American College, in Rome from 1980 to 1985. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Angelo on June 30, 1984, by Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza.

In the Diocese of San Angelo he served as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Odessa from 1985 to 1987; as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Fort Stockton from 1987 to 1997; and as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in San Angelo from 1997 to 2002.

Bishop Vásquez was the Vicar General/Chancellor for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston overseeing the administrative operations of the largest diocese in Texas and the 11th largest diocese in the U.S. He also served as Episcopal Vicar for Hispanics and as the Liaison for Youth during his years in Galveston-Houston.

Bishop Vásquez has recently served on the following committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB): Chair, Committee on Migration; Administrative Committee; and Committee for Religious Liberty; and as a consultant to the Committee on International Justice and Peace, the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and the Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Currently, he serves as a consultant to the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism and as Lead Bishop for Region X for the V National Encounter for Hispanic/Latino Ministry (V Encuentro).