Pope Leo accepts resignation of Bishop Mulvey of Corpus Christi; names Bishop Avilés as successor

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop W. Michael Mulvey, 76, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, and has appointed Bishop Mario A. Avilés, currently auxiliary bishop of Brownsville, Texas, as his successor.

The resignation and appointment were announced in Washington Dec. 1 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Mulvey said the diocese welcomed his successor “with open hearts and deep prayer.” “As we begin the holy season of Advent, a time of hope and joy, we are reminded that Christ continues to guide and shepherd His Church. This is a moment of grace for the Diocese of Corpus Christi,” he said in a statement.

Brownsville Bishop Daniel E. Flores received the news “with joy and thanksgiving,” saying the appointment “calls Bishop Mario to offer his many gifts for the glory of God and good of the people in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.”

“The Diocese of Brownsville will greatly miss Bishop Mario’s wise counsel and good judgment, his joyful presence in our parish communities, and his administrative skills in the service of our diocesan offices and Catholic Schools,” Bishop Flores said in a statement. “Yet at the same time we share in the special joy of the Diocese of Corpus Christi at the news of Bishop Mario’s appointment.”

He noted the Diocese of Corpus Christi “has over the years generously shared” her clergy to serve as bishops in Brownsville, including the first bishop of Brownsville, Bishop Adolph Marx. Bishop Flores added that both he and the late Bishop Raymundo J. Peña of Brownsville (1995-2009) began their priestly ministry in Corpus Christi.

“Now, by God’s providence, a moment has arrived for the Diocese of Brownsville to share of her clergy for service to the people of the Diocese of Corpus Christi,” Bishop Flores said and asked the faithful to pray for Bishop Avilés “as he prepares to take up his new mission of service in Corpus Christi.”

Bishop Avilés was born in Mexico City on Sept. 16, 1969. After attending the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome and a master of divinity from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut.

He was ordained a priest on July 21, 1998, for the Confederation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

Bishop Avilés served nearly two decades in parish ministry in Pharr and Hidalgo, Texas, and later held leadership roles within the Oratory Academy and Oratory Athenaeum in Pharr, and the Confederation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, where he was procurator general between 2012 and 2018.

Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of Brownsville in 2017, and he was ordained a bishop the following year.

The Diocese of Corpus Christi is comprised of 10,951 square miles in the State of Texas and has a total population of 582,684, of which 209,726, are Catholic.

This story was updated at 2:45 p.m.

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