Pope names native son as new auxiliary of Galveston-Houston archdiocese

Houston, Texas, Feb 21, 2012 / 16:03 pm

Pope Benedict XVI named Houston native Msgr. George A. Sheltz on Feb. 21 as the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston’s next auxiliary bishop.

“I am deeply humbled and honored that Pope Benedict XVI has named me an auxiliary bishop today,” Bishop-designate Sheltz said. “This Archdiocese has been my home my entire life and it is a joy and privilege to pledge my continued service to the wonderful people of Galveston-Houston who have been my brothers and sisters in faith these many years.”

“I also pledge my fidelity and communion with the Holy Father. I am deeply grateful for his expression of confidence in me,” he said in a Feb. 21 statement from the archdiocese.

The 65-year-old bishop-designate is presently the diocese’s vicar general, chancellor and moderator of the curia. He was born in Houston in 1946. He attended St. Mary’s Seminary of St. Thomas University and was ordained a priest for the diocese in 1971.

His father, Deacon George Sheltz, Sr., was in the first class of permanent deacons ordained for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. The bishop-designate’s late brother, Fr. Anton Sheltz, was ordained for the diocese in 1976. His uncle, Msgr. Anton Frank, was the first native Houstonian to be ordained for the diocese in 1933.

Bishop-designate Sheltz “represents the long history of local priests who have given their lives in selfless service to the Lord,” Cardinal DiNardo said. “I look forward to working with him as my chief collaborator in this growing, diverse archdiocese.”

The future bishop has served at Houston’s Assumption Parish, Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Christ the Redeemer Parish, Prince of Peace Parish. He was pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in The Woodlands, Texas in 1999 and became Secretariat Director for Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services in 2007.

He will be ordained in late April at downtown Houston’s Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. He will become Titular Bishop of Irina.

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is the largest in Texas and the 12th largest in the U.S. It has a Catholic population of over 1.1 million out of 5.8 million people. There are 427 priests, 357 permanent deacons, and 687 vowed religious in the archdiocese.