Bishop J. Gregory Kelly named to Texas diocese after Bishop Strickland's removal

(OSV News) -- Pope Francis has appointed Auxiliary Bishop J. Gregory Kelly of Dallas as bishop of Tyler, Texas.

The move comes just over a year after the pope removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland in the wake of an apostolic visitation to that diocese. The Tyler Diocese has in the interim been under the care of apostolic administrator Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Texas.

The appointment was publicly announced Dec. 20 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S.

A native of Iowa and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the 68-year-old Bishop Kelly was ordained as a priest of Dallas in 1982, having obtained degrees in philosophy and theology, and was ordained as an auxiliary bishop in 2016.

During his time in the Diocese of Dallas, he served as the assistant pastor of All Saints Catholic Church, located in that city, and as pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in McKinney, Texas. From 1996-2008, he was a chaplain of the University of Dallas, in Irving, Texas.

His other roles in the Dallas Diocese have included vicar of clergy, vicar general, vocations director and interim rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas. In addition, he has been a member of the diocesan presbyteral council, college of consultors and review board, as well as a member of the National Organization for Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy, now known as the Association for the Ongoing Formation of Priests.

Bishop Kelly's episcopal motto is "Take Courage," the words used by Jesus in Mt 14:27 to address his frightened disciples as he walked on the water toward their storm-tossed boat. The motto also evokes the Archangel Gabriel's assurance to a "greatly troubled" Mary during the Annunciation (Luke 1:29-30). According to Bishop Kelly's episcopal biography on the Diocese of Dallas website, the motto "expresses that it is by God’s Strength that we have the courage to live as Christ has called us." It also expresses that through Mary's intercession "we receive the grace to keep our eyes on the Lord," following the path he leads on.

Despite his removal, Bishop Strickland has remained an outspoken detractor of Pope Francis, both online and at various events organized by Catholic laity opposed to the Holy Father. The apostolic visitation that saw him removed from the Tyler Diocese's leadership was believed to have been prompted by the bishop's May 2023 social media posts accusing the pope of "undermining the deposit of faith."

Bishop Strickland also led small "prayer protests" amid the annual U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops plenary meetings in November 2023 and 2024, staged outside the Baltimore hotel at which the sessions were held. During the 2024 USCCB gathering in November, Bishop Strickland read an open letter denouncing the recently concluded Synod on Synodality, telling the bishops to "speak up against the false messages constantly flowing from the Vatican under the leadership of Pope Francis."

The recently concluded 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality ended with a final document teaching on synodality for the sake of the church's mission from Jesus Christ. It lays out the nature of a synodal church, and the relationship and respective roles of the faithful and hierarchy in authentic communion with each other. It also outlines key priorities and recommendations for how to implement synodality at every level of the church.

The Holy Father made clear in a Nov. 25 note published by the Vatican that the Synod on Synodality final document "participates in the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter, and as such, I ask that it be accepted."