Roman Catholic Diocese of San Angelo

During the 17th century, Texas was a province in the Spanish Empire. The first Catholic presence in the region was the visit of the missionaries Alonso de Benavides and Juan Salas to the Jumanos people in 1629. The two priests celebrated the first mass in the area.[3][4]

In 1757, the Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá was established by Father Alonso Giraldo de Terreros in present-day Menard County.[4] The purpose of the mission was to evangelize the Lipan Apache people. Although the Apaches never visited the mission, its construction convinced the Comanche people that the Spanish were allying with them. In 1758, the Comanches and their allies attacked the mission, killing de Terreros and burning it down.[5]

After passing to Mexican control, Texas became an independent republic in 1836. In 1845, it joined the United States.

After the American Civil War ended in 1865, a new Catholic mission was founded in 1867 at Ben Ficklin, Texas, to serve US Army troops stationed at the new Fort Concho. In Abilene, a Catholic mission was established in the 1880s; it became Sacred Heart Church in 1891.[6] One of the oldest churches in the region is St. Joseph's in Stanton, founded in 1882.[7]

Pope John XXIII erected the Diocese of San Angelo on October 16, 1961. Most of its territory of the new diocese came primarily from the Diocese of Amarillo, but it received several counties from the Dioceses of Austin, El Paso and Dallas-Fort Worth.[3] According to legend, one reason the pope chose San Angelo as the episcopal see was that his first name was Angelo.[3] According to Bishop Michael PFeifer:

The Church was growing here in a good way, a lot of people were coming into the church and felt it would be good to have a separate diocese. Plus, that was an extreme amount of territory for one bishop in Amarillo to cover — it's 450 miles from Amarillo to Junction.[3]

John XXIII in 1961 selected Reverend Thomas Drury of Amarillo as the first bishop of San Angelo. Four years later, Drury became bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.[8] The second bishop of San Angelo was Reverend Thomas Tschoepe of the Diocese of Dallas, named by Pope Paul VI in 1966. Three years later, Tschoepe was installed as bishop of Dallas.[9]

Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Leven of the Archdiocese of San Antonio was appointed bishop of San Angelo by Pope Paul VI in 1969 [10][11] Credited with making the Diocese of San Angelo financially solvent, Leven resolved several long-standing financial problems that were burdening the diocese.[11] He also initiated the permanent diaconate program, which ordained over sixty men.[11] Leven retired in 1979.

To replace Leven, Pope John Paul II appointed Monsignor Joseph Fiorenza of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston as the next bishop of San Angelo in 1979. He became Archbishop of Galveston-Houston in 1984.[12]

In 1985, John Paul II named Reverend Michael Pfeifer as the next bishop of San Angelo.[13]After 28 years as bishop, Pfeifer retired in 2013. The bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo, as of 2023, is Michael Sis from the Diocese of Austin. He was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.[14]

In 2008, Bishop Pfeifer and the Diocese of San Angelo were sued by a San Angelo man. The plaintiff claimed that Reverend David Espitia of St. Ann's Parish in Colorado City had sexually abused him from 1994, when he was age eight, to 2002 and that the diocese covered up the crimes. In response, Pfeifer said that Espita had told him in 2003 about the allegations and had denied all of them. At that time, Pfeifer initiated an investigation. A week after his meeting with Pfeifer, Espita committed suicide.[15][16][17] In 2011, the diocese reached an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiff.[18]

The 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report on sexual abuse by clergy included a section on the transfer of Reverend Thomas C. Kelley from the Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania, to the Diocese of San Angelo, despite a record of sexual abuse of young men. Five young Pennsylvania men had accused Kelley of making sexual advances towards them, either at a high school or in the seminary. The Diocese of Erie negotiated a financial settlement with one victim and sent sent Kelley sent out of town for treatment twice. Both of Kelley's treatment facilities released him with recommendations that he have no contact with young parishioners.

In 1995, Kelley requested a transfer to San Angelo. Pfeifer then talked to Erie Bishop Donald Walter Trautman about Kelley's record. Despite this conversation, Pfeiffer agreed to Kelley's transfer to Texas without any restrictions. During Kelley's ten years in San Angelo, there were no allegations of abuse filed against him; he died in 2005. Pfeifer refused in 2018 to comment on the Kelley story. Bishop Sis later said he felt hurt and angry about the Kelley allegations.[19]

On January 31, 2019, the Diocese of San Angelo published a list of 12 priests and one deacon with credible accusations of sexual abuse of children.[20][21][22] One of those listed died in prison, while two others were laicized and five removed from ministry.[20][21] The accused clergy who weren't disciplined are deceased.[20][21]

1. Thomas Joseph Drury (1961–1965), appointed Bishop of Corpus Christi
2. Thomas Ambrose Tschoepe (1966–1969), appointed Bishop of Dallas
3. Stephen Aloysius Leven (1969–1979)
4. Joseph Anthony Fiorenza (1979–1984), appointed Bishop and later Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
5. Michael David Pfeifer (1985–2013)
6. Michael Sis (2014–present)

Joe Steve Vásquez, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston in 2001 and later Bishop of Austin