HOUSTON - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston-Houston is being elevated to the rank of archdiocese because of the growth of Catholicism in Texas, church officials said Wednesday.
The designation by Pope John Paul II makes Texas the second state in the country, joining California, to have two archdioceses. Galveston-Houston will join San Antonio in administering to the roughly 6.5 million Roman Catholics in the state.
Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, who has been serving as bishop to 1.3 million Houston-area Catholics for two decades, was named the first archbishop.
Fiorenza said the migration of Catholics from Latin America to Texas and other areas of the country is prompting a "great shift" in the church in the United States. Texas' Catholic population exceeds traditional church strongholds such as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, and it is closing in on New York.
The announcement coincided with the retirement of Archbishop Patrick Flores in San Antonio and the naming of Jose Horacio Gomez, 53, an auxiliary bishop from Denver, to succeed him.