Pope Francis Taps Texan Bishop Garcia For Monterey, California
VATICAN CITY (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Pope Francis has named Monsignor Daniel Garcia, currently an auxiliary bishop in Texas, to take over as bishop of Monterey, California.
The Vatican said that the 58-year-old Garcia would replace Bishop Richard Garcia, who died earlier this year.
Bishop Daniel Garcia has been an auxiliary bishop of Austin since 2015. Prior to his installation, Bishop Garcia served for 18 years as the founding pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Austin.
The diocese of Monterey is heavily influenced by the controversial 18th century St. Junipero Serra, who created a mission there as part of a chain of missions up and down California to evangelize Native Americans. Francis canonized Serra during his 2015 visit to the U.S.
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