Catholic Diocese of Dallas / Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis appointed Bishop Gregory Kelly as the fifth bishop of Tyler, Texas, Dec. 20, more than a year after the Pope’s removal of the Diocese’s former leader, Bishop Joseph Strickland.
In a press conference the same day, Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin, Texas, the apostolic administrator of Tyler, introduced and welcomed Bishop Kelly to the diocese. Bishop Vásquez noted that Bishop Kelly has served as auxiliary bishop of Dallas since 2016 and as university chaplain, vocations director, and vicar for clergy in his former diocese.
“I have known Bishop Kelly for many years as a bishop, a brother bishop,” Bishop Vásquez said. “He is a humble man who loves the Church and is faithful to our Holy Father, Pope Francis.”
Bishop Kelly will be installed Feb. 24, 2025.
“I am grateful to the Holy Father for this surprising pre-Christmas gift,” he said at the press conference.
During his speech, Bishop Kelly also stated that he has prayed for three graces over the past year: gratitude, humility, and work or “mission.”
“The mission is not ours,” he noted. “It’s given to us by God.”
He then quoted Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium, paragraph 279: “The Holy Spirit works as he wills, when he wills and where he wills; we entrust ourselves without pretending to see striking results. We know only that our commitment is necessary. Let us learn to rest in the tenderness of the arms of the Father amid our creative and generous commitment. Let us keep marching forward; let us give him everything, allowing him to make our efforts bear fruit in his good time.”
CatholicVote reported in November 2023 that Pope Francis had removed Bishop Strickland from his appointment as Bishop of Tyler after requesting that he resign.
“I said [to the Vatican] that I couldn’t resign,” Bishop Strickland explained. “I couldn’t, of my will, abandon the flock that I’d been given; but … Pope Francis has the authority to remove me as bishop and he has chosen to do so.”
