Father Brendan Cahill of Galveston-Houston named new Bishop of Victoria

April 23, 2015

Catherine Rogan

Pope Francis names Galveston- Houston priest as new Bishop of Victoria
The Mass of Ordination for Bishop-Elect Brendan J. Cahill scheduled for June 29

Pope Francis named Father Brendan Cahill of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston as the new Bishop of the Diocese of Victoria, Texas. Since 2010, Bishop-elect Cahill had been serving as the Director of Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services and Vicar for Clergy for the Archdiocese when the announcement was made by the Vatican, April 23. He will be the third bishop of Victoria, succeeding Bishop David E. Fellhauer, who has served as the Victoria bishop since 1990. Bishop Fellhauer has been granted his retirement by the Holy See.

“I’m honored and humbled to become the Shepherd of this wonderful diocese, and I look forward to the future, offering my life for the people of this area,” Bishop-elect Cahill said.

Brendan John Cahill, 51, was born in Coral Gables, Florida. His family moved to Houston in 1971. The son of Joe and Joan Cahill, Bishop-elect Cahill has two brothers and sisters, seven nieces and nephews and a great-nephew and great niece – all of whom live in the Houston area. Bishop-elect Cahill attended St. Cecilia Catholic School in Houston and graduated from St. Thomas High School in Houston in 1981.

“I want to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to my mom and dad and brothers and sisters for their love and encouragement over the years,” Bishop- elect Cahill said. “The parish family of St. Cecilia in Houston is where we celebrated our faith – to all of the priests and consecrated women who have served there over the past years we owe a deep debt of gratitude. I would especially want to recognize the Incarnate Word Sisters who taught me in grade school, and the Basilian Fathers who taught me at St. Thomas High School.”

He attended Rice University for a year before entering St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston in 1982.

“I have felt called to be a priest from a young age, entering St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston when I was 18,” Bishop-elect Cahill said. “As I’ve grown in the priesthood my love and respect for my brother priests has grown each day.”

Bishop- elect Cahill was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in 1990. He was as parochial vicar at St. Frances Cabrini in Houston and Christ the Good Shepherd in Spring before serving as the formation director at St. Mary’s Seminary from 1998-2001. He later served as the rector at St. Mary’s Seminary from 2001 to 2010 and was an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Theology. Since September of 2014, he has served as Administrator pro-tem of St. Joseph Church in Houston.

He expressed gratitude to both Daniel Cardinal DiNardo and Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza for their support and guidance.

“Of all the things I could thank these men for, the most important may be the example that prayer is the most important work of the Bishop, as I personally know the prayer that these men offer daily for the priests and people of the Archdiocese,” Bishop-elect Cahill said.

The bishop-elect studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University and has theology degrees with specializations in the history and the theologians that were influential at the opening of the Second Vatican Council and on the Catholic doctrine on the interpretation of Scripture as developed in the Second Vatican Council. In addition, he has a Masters in Theology from Xavier University in New Orleans with a specialization on the experience and theology of African-American Catholics.

Bishop-elect Cahill is a Spiritual Director of the Houston Senatus of the Legion of Mary and a Chaplain of the Houston Serra Club and Knights of Columbus, Galveston-Houston Chapter. He is an Associate Chaplain of the Knights of Malta; a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Southwest Lieutenancy; and a Knight of Columbus, 4th Degree Member.

“As I begin my service in the Diocese of Victoria, I pray to be a humble servant of the people of God in communion with the priests and deacons ordained to offer our lives daily for the people of this area,” Bishop-elect Cahill said. “God bless you all, let’s keep one another in prayer.”

The Mass of Ordination for Bishop-elect Cahill is scheduled for June 29 in Victoria.