Mark J. Seitz

Last updated

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Mark J. Seitz
Bishop of El Paso
Bishop Mark J. Seitz.jpg
Seitz as auxiliary bishop of Dallas
Church Catholic Church
Diocese El Paso
AppointedMay 6, 2013
InstalledJuly 9, 2013
Predecessor Armando Xavier Ochoa
Orders
OrdinationMay 17, 1980
by  Thomas Tschoepe
ConsecrationApril 27, 2010
by  Kevin Joseph Farrell, Charles Victor Grahmann, Michael Duca
Personal details
Born (1954-01-10) January 10, 1954 (age 70)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Previous post(s)
Motto Latin: Paratum cor meum
(My heart is ready)
Styles of
Mark Joseph Seitz
Coat of arms of Mark Joseph Seitz.svg
Reference style His Excellency
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Bishop

Mark Joseph Seitz (born January 10, 1954) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texas since July 9, 2013. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 2010 to 2013.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Mark Seitz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 10, 1954, the eldest of ten siblings. In 1972, he entered Holy Trinity Seminary at the University of Dallas in Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1976 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1980. [1]

Ordination and ministry

Seitz was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas by Bishop Thomas A. Tschoepe at Saint Joan of Arc Church in Okauchee, Wisconsin, on May 17, 1980. [2] The diocese assigned Seitz as a parochial vicar at Good Shepherd Parish in Garland, Texas. [3] In 1982, Seitz earned a Master of Theology degree from the University of Dallas.

In 1985, Seitz attended Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he was awarded a Master of Liturgical Studies degree that same year. Seitz also took summer courses at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [1]

Starting in 1985, Seitz joined the faculty at the University of Dallas, teaching liturgy and sacramental theology. [3] He also served the university in the following roles:

Seitz left the University of Dallas in 1993 after being named pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Waxahachie, Texas. [1] He also worked as an instructor at the Christ the Servant Institute in Dallas in 2001 and interned at the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the fall of 2002. [1]

In 2003, the diocese transferred Seitz to serve as pastor of St. Rita's Parish in Dallas. [4] Pope John Paul II named him as a prelate of honor in December 2004. [3] In 2009, Seitz donated one of his kidneys to an ailing parishioner. [5] In 2010, Seitz became pastor of All Saints Parish in Dallas. [3]

Seitz was a member of the Presbyteral Council (1988 to 1993, 1999 to 2006 and 2007 to 2010), spiritual director of Dallas/Fort Worth Courage (1998 to 2010), a member of the Diocesan Honduras Solidarity Team (2002 to 2010), a member of the college of consultors of the diocese (2007 to 2010), spiritual director of the White Rose Women's Center in Dallas (2009 to 2010), and a board member of the BirthChoice Catholic Crisis Pregnancy Center (2009 to 2010). [1]

Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas

On March 11, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Seitz as an auxiliary bishop of Dallas with the titular see of Cozyla. [2]

Seitz was one of the first auxiliary bishops of Dallas since the creation of the diocese in 1969. Seitz received his episcopal consecration on the April 27, 2010, from Bishop Kevin Farrell, with Bishops Charles V. Grahmann and Michael Duca serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral. [2]

Bishop of El Paso

On May 6, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Seitz as bishop of El Paso. [3] He was installed there on July 9, 2013.

Viewpoints

Immigration

On July 18, 2017, Seitz issued a pastoral letter on immigration in which he said that "elected leaders have not yet mustered the moral courage to enact permanent, comprehensive immigration reform" and praised the efforts of the "heroic individuals, families, pastors, religious, parishes and institutions that spend themselves in service to migrants and refugees" and campaign "against the militarization of our border". He expressed concern for immigrant families who fear separation and for law enforcement officers who "put their lives on the line to stem the flow of weapons and drugs" but are "troubled in conscience by divisive political rhetoric and new edicts coming from Washington, D.C." He condemned profit-based immigrant detention centers, the hostility shown to asylum seekers, and "the disparagement of our Muslim brothers and sisters". [6]

On June 27, 2019, Seitz and several members of the Hope Border Institute of El Paso, Texas, escorted seven Central American asylum seekers to the Paso del Norte International Bridge in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico to assist them in claiming asylum in the United States. [7] In February 2022, Seitz condemned a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against Annunciation House, a Catholic charity in El Paso. Paxton accused the charity of harboring "illegal aliens". [8]

Racism

In the aftermath of the El Paso Walmart shooting on August 3, 2019, Seitz wrote a pastoral letter on racism and white supremacy,

"If we are honest, racism is really about advancing, shoring up, and failing to oppose a system of white privilege and advantage based on skin color. When this system begins to shape our public choices, structure our common life together and becomes a tool of class, this is rightly called institutionalized racism. Action to build this system of hate and inaction to oppose its dismantling are what we rightly call white supremacy. This is the evil one and the ‘father of lies’ (John 8:44) incarnate in our everyday choices and lifestyles, and our laws and institutions." [9]

In February 2020, Seitz, along with bishops from Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, met with Pope Francis in Rome. The pope gave Seitz 50 rosaries that he personally blessed for survivors of the El Paso Walmart shooting. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio</span> Archdiocese in Texas

The Archdiocese of San Antonio is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It encompasses 27,841 square miles (72,110 km2) in the U.S. state of Texas. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio had a self-reported 2018 population of 796,954, up from 728,001 in 2014. The archdiocese includes the city of San Antonio and the following counties: Val Verde, Edwards, Real, Kerr, Gillespie, Kendall, Comal, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Uvalde, Kinney, Medina, Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, Frio, Atascosa, Bandera County, and the portion of McMullen County north of the Nueces River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas</span> Latin Catholic jurisdiction in Texas, United States

The Diocese of Dallas is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in North Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Texas, USA

The Diocese of El Paso is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the El Paso Valley in Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan see of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmond Carmody</span> Irish-born American prelate

Edmond Carmody is an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi in Texas, bishop of the Diocese of Tyler in Texas and as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas. While still a priest, Carmody spent five years working as a missionary in Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymundo Joseph Peña</span> American Roman Catholic bishop (1934–2021)

Raymundo Joseph Peña was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville in Texas from 1995 to 2009, bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texas from 1980 to 1995 and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas from 1976 to 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armando Xavier Ochoa</span> American prelate

Armando Xavier Ochoa is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California, bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texas and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelton Fabre</span> Catholic archbishop

Shelton Joseph Fabre is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Archbishop of Louisville in Kentucky since March 30, 2022. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana from 2013 to 2022 and was auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 2007 to 2013.

Thomas Francis Brennan was an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 1891 to 1892 before serving as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of St. John's in the British Colony of Newfoundland from 1893 to 1905.

George Henry Guilfoyle was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey from 1968 to 1989. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1964 to 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eduardo Nevares</span> Roman Catholic bishop

Eduardo Alanis Nevares is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic church. He has been serving as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Douglas Deshotel</span> American Catholic prelate

John Douglas Deshotel is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana since 2016. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 2010 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutilio del Riego Jáñez</span> Spanish-born American Catholic bishop (born 1940)

Rutilio del Riego Jáñez is a Spanish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Del Riego Jáñez served as an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of San Bernardino in California from 2005 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario E. Dorsonville</span> Colombian-born American Catholic prelate (1960–2024)

Mario Eduardo Dorsonville-Rodríguez was a Colombian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Houma–Thibodaux from March 2023 until his death in January 2024. He was an auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., from 2015 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Kelly</span> American Catholic prelate 9born 1956)

John Gregory Kelly is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Dallas in Texas since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Milner Coerver</span> American Roman Catholic clergyman (born 1954)

Robert Milner Coerver is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop for the Diocese of Lubbock since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Edward Freyer</span>

Timothy Edward Freyer is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Orange in California since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Alberto Avilés</span>

Mario Alberto Avilés is a Mexican-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Brownsville in Texas since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Aldon Hicks</span> American prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1967)

Ronald Aldon Hicks is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop for the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois since 2020. Hicks previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 2018 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro D. Aclan</span> Philippine-born American prelate

Alejandro Dumbrigue Aclan is a Philippine-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Gordon (bishop)</span> American prelate

Gregory William Gordon is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the first auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Las Vegas in Nevada since 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bishop Seitz". Diocese of El Paso. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bishop Mark Joseph Seitz [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Pope Names Auxiliary Bishop Seitz Head Diocese Of El Paso, Texas". US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Pope Names Vicar General, Pastor As Auxiliary Bishops For Dallas". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Press release). March 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Priest donates own 'holy kidney' to ailing parishioner". Catholic News Agency . November 13, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  6. ↑ Guidos, Rhina (July 18, 2017). "Bishop Mark Seitz denounces hateful words, militarization of border". National Catholic Reporter. Catholic News Service. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  7. ↑ Guidos, Rhina (June 28, 2019). "Texas Bishop helps migrant family cross into U.S. on asylum trek". America Magazine. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  8. ↑ Perez, Heriberto (February 22, 2024). "Bishop of El Paso responds to lawsuit filed against Annunciation House". KVIA. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Night Will Be No More | Pastoral Letter to People of God in El Paso". hope-border-inst. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  10. ↑ Esquivel, Erika (January 30, 2020). "Pope Francis gives Bishop Seitz 50 rosaries to give to El Paso shooting victims, families". KFOX. Retrieved February 5, 2020.

Further reading

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of El Paso
2013—Present		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
-
 Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas
2010-2013		Succeeded by
-
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.