Diocesan Administrator Appointed

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On January 20, 2025, Pope Francis announced the appointment of Bishop Joe S. Vásquez as Archbishop of Galveston-Houston. On March 25, 2025, clergy, religious, and lay faithful gathered for the installation of Archbishop Vásquez at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston. With this appointment, the office of the Bishop of Austin is now vacant, and we prayerfully await a new bishop.

According to the Code of Canon Law, when the office of the bishop becomes vacant, the College of Consultors, a body of priests appointed by the bishop, elects a diocesan administrator to govern the diocese until a new bishop is appointed. The College of Consultors for the Diocese of Austin met on the evening of the 25th and elected the Very Reverend James Misko as diocesan administrator.

Upon accepting his appointment, Father James Misko made the Profession of Faith and took the Oath of Fidelity before the College of Consultors. He also notified the Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, of his election.

Father Misko, a priest of the Diocese of Austin for over 17 years, has served as parochial vicar at St. Elizabeth in Pflugerville, pastor of Christ the King in Belton, and pastor of St. Louis King of France in Austin. He has served as the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia since January 2019.

The diocesan administrator possesses many of the same responsibilities as a diocesan bishop, but with certain limitations, particularly regarding decisions with long-term financial implications, the ordination of priests and deacons, and the appointment of pastors. A key aspect to this period of sede vacante is that the diocesan administrator governs with the mind of the previous bishop and makes as few changes as possible to the overall mission of the diocese. The office of the diocesan administrator will end when the new bishop takes canonical possession of the diocese during the Mass of Installation or Ordination, typically occurring within two months of the Holy Father's appointment of the new bishop.

As we now begin our prayerful anticipation for a new bishop, we invoke the intercession of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of this Local Church, that we may be filled with apostolic zeal and united as the Mystical Body of Christ grateful for God’s generosity.