Pope Francis has appointed as bishop of Monterey in California, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, currently auxiliary bishop of Austin, the Vatican announced November 27, 2018.
Bishop Garcia succeeds Bishop Richard Garcia who died in July 2018.
Bishop Garcia’s episcopal appointment is the fifth one from the Diocese of Austin made by a pope since 2010. In that year, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey to lead the Diocese of Corpus Christi. In 2013, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Michael “Mike” J. Sis to lead the Diocese of San Angelo. In 2015, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Garcia as the first auxiliary Bishop of Austin. In 2016, Pope Francis appointed Bishop David Konderla to lead the Diocese of Tulsa. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed Bishop William “Bill” Wack, to lead the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.
In 2014, Bishop Vásquez appointed then-Father Danny Garcia as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia on March 3, 2014. (The Curia is the collective body of persons and offices assisting the diocesan bishop in governing the diocese.)
Bishop Garcia was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Austin on May 28, 1988, by Bishop John E. McCarthy. He was born on Aug. 30, 1960, as the eldest of four children of Daniel Castilleja Garcia Jr. and the late Sarah Muñoz Garcia. He grew up in Cameron. He is bilingual in Spanish and English.
He earned an associate of arts degree from Tyler Junior College in 1982. He earned a bachelor of arts in Philosophy from St. Mary’s Seminary at the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 1984 and earned a master’s of Divinity from the same university in 1988. He earned a master’s of arts in Liturgical Studies in 2007 from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Bishop Garcia has served in a variety of roles in the Diocese of Austin. His first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Austin, followed by Cristo Rey Parish in Austin and St. Louis King of France Parish in Austin. He briefly served at St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Humble in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. In 1995, he was named Founding Pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Austin, leading the parish from its inception through multiple building projects until his appointment as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia in 2014.
