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Diocese of Tyler

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Diocese of Tyler
Dioecesis Tylerensis
Catholic
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Location
Country United States
Territory 33 counties in Eastern Texas
Ecclesiastical province Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Statistics
Population
Total
Catholics 		(as of 2024)
1,460,387
121,212 (8.3%)
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established February 24, 1987
Cathedral Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Patron saint Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception[1]
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Bishop Gregory Kelly
Metropolitan Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez
Map
Website
dioceseoftyler.org

The Diocese of Tyler (Latin: Dioecesis Tylerensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in eastern Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. The episcopal see is Tyler; the mother church is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Territory

The Diocese of Tyler encompasses the east Texas counties of Anderson, Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Delta, Franklin, Freestone, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Lamar, Leon, Madison, Marion, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rains, Red River, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Trinity, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.[2]

The parishes are grouped into seven deaneries for administrative purposes: Northwest, Northeast, West Central, Central, East Central, Southwest, and Southeast.

History

1690 to 1900

The first Catholic mission in Texas, then part of the Spanish colony of New Spain, was San Francisco de los Tejas. It was founded by the Franciscan friar Damián Massanet in 1690 in the Weches area. The priests left the mission after three years, then established a second mission, Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas, near present-day Alto in 1716.[3] With the end of the Mexican War of Independence in 1821, Texas became part of the new nation of Mexico.

In 1839, three years after the founding of the Republic of Texas, Pope Gregory XVI erected the prefecture apostolic of Texas, largely covering the territory of the present State of Texas.[4] By the 1840s, Catholic missionaries were visiting Clarksville and Nacogdoches. The prefecture was elevated to a vicariate apostolic in 1842, about three years before Texas became an American state. On May 4, 1847, Pope Pius IX elevated the vicariate into the Diocese of Galveston.[4] Marshall received its first missionary visit in 1853. The Tyler area would remain part of several Texas dioceses for the next 139 years.

Immaculate Conception Parish, the first in Jefferson, was established in 1867.[5] During the early 1870s, Theodore Buffard would travel from Galveston to North Texas to conduct services in hotels and private houses. Sacred Heart Church, the first in Texarkana, was dedicated in 1871.[6] The first parish in Tyler was Immaculate Conception, founded in 1878 to serve Irish railway workers in the area.[7] In 1880, St. Anthony's was established as a mission church in Longview, with its church constructed in 1884.[8] The Benedictine Sisters in 1892 opened St. Joseph Academy in Tyler, the first formal Catholic school in the present-day diocese.[9]

1900 to 2000

The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Houston opened Michael Meagher Memorial Hospital in Texarkana in 1916. An Irish civil engineer, Meagher had died in 1909, leaving his $75,000 estate to the sisters to open a hospital in the city.[10] Today the facility is known as CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital.

A contingent of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth arrived in Tyler in 1937 to open Mother Frances Hospital. Today it is CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital.[11] In 1945, a contingent of Dominican sisters moved from Farmington Hills, Michigan to Lufkin to set up the Monastery of the Infant Jesus.[12] Pope John Paul II founded the Diocese of Tyler on December 12, 1986, and it was formally erected on February 24, 1987.[3] The pope appointed Charles Herzig of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston as its first bishop. Herzig died in 1991.[13] Immaculate Conception Church in Tyler was then designated as the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.[7]

Auxiliary Bishop Edmond Carmody became the next bishop in 1992.[14] During his tenure, Carmody oversaw the founding of many new parishes in the diocese.[15]

2000 to present

The pope named Carmody as bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi in 2000.[14] Auxiliary Bishop Álvaro Corrada del Río from the Archdiocese of Washington replaced him in 2001. del Rio transferred to the Diocese of Mayagüez in Puerto Rico in 2011.[16]

Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Dallas was named bishop of Tyler by Benedict XVI in 2011. Strickland was the first native East Texan to head the diocese.[17]

In May 2023, Strickland posted online "I reject [Pope Francis's] program of undermining the Deposit of Faith".[18] In June 2023, it was revealed that the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome had completed an apostolic visitation to the diocese. It had been conducted by Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas and Bishop Dennis Sullivan. Visitations are frequently a prelude to disciplinary action by the Vatican against a bishop.[19] After the apostolic visitation, several senior cardinals allegedly advised Francis to pressure on Strickland into resigning.

Pope Francis removed Strickland as bishop of Tyler in November 2023.[20] Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Diocese of Austin was appointed as apostolic administrator of the diocese. In December 2024, Auxiliary Bishop Gregory Kelly of the Diocese of Dallas was made the new bishop of Tyler.[21] That same month, the Vatican sent a letter to the cathedral parish, order it to stop all celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass.[22]

Sex abuse

Reverend Gustavo Cuello was arrested in 1997 on charges of raping a 13-year-old altar girl. The victim said that he attacked her once or twice a week for six months. After posting bail, Cuello fled to his native Ecuador. In 2003, Ecuador extradited him back to the United States. At his trial, Cuello pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.[23] The Vatican laicized him in 2006.[24]

In February 2019, the diocese published the names of three priests associated with the diocese who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. Only one of the three, Cuello, had allegations reported within the diocese.[25]

Bishops of Tyler

  1. Charles Edwin Herzig (1986–1991), died in office[26]
  2. Edmond Carmody (1992–2000), appointed Bishop of Corpus Christi[27]
  3. Álvaro Corrada del Río (2000–2011), appointed Bishop of Mayagüez in Puerto Rico[28]
  4. Joseph E. Strickland (2012–2023), removed by Pope Francis[29]
  5. Gregory Kelly (2025–present)[30]

Other diocesan priests who became bishop

Education

As of 2026, the Diocese of Tyler has three high schools and two elementary schools.[31]

High schools

Canonical status and jurisdiction

Diocese of Tyler is a diocese of the catholic church of the Catholic Church.[35]

References

  1. Back to citation Strickland, Joseph Edward (April 22, 2017). "A Teaching Diocese: Constitution on Teaching the Catholic Faith" (PDF). Diocese of Tyler. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  2. Back to citation "Our Diocese". Diocese of Tyler. Diocese of Tyler. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  3. Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Texas Almanac-Diocese of Tyler
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 "History". Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  5. Back to citation "History and Growth of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  6. Back to citation "Our Story, Our Future". Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  7. Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 "Parish History". The Cathedral | Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  8. Back to citation "About". St. Anthony Catholic Church. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  9. Back to citation "Bishop Gorman Catholic School". www.bishopgorman.net. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  10. Back to citation Hernandez, Fernanda (2016-09-15). "CHRISTUS St. Michael Celebrates 100 Years of Healing". Texarkana Today. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  11. Back to citation "History and Growth of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  12. Back to citation "Our History". Monastery of the Infant Jesus. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  13. Back to citation "Bishop Charles Edwin Herzig [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  14. Back to citation occurrence 14.0 Back to citation occurrence 14.1 "Bishop Edmond Carmody". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  15. Back to citation "Our Bishop". The Catholic Diocese of Tyler. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  16. Back to citation "Bishop Álvaro Corrada del Río [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  17. Back to citation Hoeffner, Rebecca. "First East Texas native to oversee diocese". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  18. Back to citation "Pope Francis removes Tyler's Bishop Strickland". The Pillar. November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  19. Back to citation CNA. "UPDATE: Vatican-ordered investigation targets Bishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  20. Back to citation "Pope Francis Relieves Bishop Joseph Strickland from Pastoral Governance of the Diocese of Tyler and Appoints Bishop Joe Vásquez as Apostolic Administrator Sede Vacante | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  21. Back to citation "Pope names Dallas auxiliary bishop as successor to Bishop Strickland | News Headlines". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  22. Back to citation "Vatican prohibits Traditional Latin Mass in Tyler, Texas, cathedral". EWTN News. 2024-11-11. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  23. Back to citation "GUSTAVO CUELLO: Ex-Tyler priest serving life sentence for sex abuse". cbs19.tv. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  24. Back to citation "Permanently Dismissed Diocese Removes Former Priest, Tyler Morning Telegraph, November 18, 2006". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  25. Back to citation Campbell, Louanna (2019-02-01). "3 priests who served Tyler diocese on list of accused". TylerPaper.com. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  26. Back to citation "Rev. Charles E. Herzig". Orlando Sentinel. September 11, 1991. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  27. Back to citation "Bishop Carmody to retire as vicar general of Diocese of Tyler". KLTV. May 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  28. Back to citation "Pope Names Bishop Alvaro Corrada Del Rio to Puerto Rico Diocese". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. July 6, 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  29. Back to citation occurrence 29.0 Back to citation occurrence 29.1 Pullella, Philip (November 11, 2023). "In very rare move, Pope dismisses conservative US bishop Strickland". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  30. Back to citation "Pope Francis Appoints Bishop Gregory Kelly as Bishop of Tyler | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  31. Back to citation "Catholic Schools". The Catholic Diocese of Tyler. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  32. Back to citation "Home | Bishop Gorman Catholic School". www.bishopgorman.net. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  33. Back to citation "School". St. Mary's Catholic Church & School. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  34. Back to citation "St. Boniface Catholic High School | A Chesterton Academy". stbonifacenac.org. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  35. Back to citation Diocese of Tyler, official website

32°20′03″N 95°18′00″W / 32.33417°N 95.30000°W

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