College Congratulates Three Friends Elected to USCCB Leadership Posts

At today’s conclusion of its annual gathering in Baltimore, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops elected leaders for the next three years, three of whom have strong ties to Thomas Aquinas College.

As president, the Bishops chose His Eminence Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Texas. The first-ever member of the College of Cardinals to represent a diocese from the American South, His Eminence previously served as the USCCB’s vice president and chaired its Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Cardinal DiNardo also served as Thomas Aquinas College’s Commencement Speaker in 2013, at which time he received the College’s highest honor, the Saint Thomas Aquinas Medallion.

For its new vice chairman, the USCCB selected another Saint Thomas Aquinas Medallion recipient, the Most Rev. José H. Gomez, who, as Archbishop of Los Angeles, is also the College’s ordinary. His Excellency has previously served as chairman of the Conference’s Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America and had been elected chairman of its Committee on Migration — an office he will now not assume, in light of his having been named vice president. Archbishop Gomez was the College’s 2011 Commencement Speaker.

To oversee their Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, the bishops selected another friend of the College, the Most Rev. Robert E. Barron, episcopal vicar for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Santa Barbara region, which includes Thomas Aquinas College. As the founder of the Word on Fire media ministry and the host of its award-winning Catholicism documentary series, Bishop Barron is a natural fit for this post, which is responsible for teaching and spreading the Faith throughout the United States. His Excellency has made several visits to the College since his appointment to the episcopate in 2015, including presiding over this year’s Convocation exercises.

“The Thomas Aquinas College community congratulates Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Gomez, and Bishop Barron on their election,” says Director of College Relations Anne S. Forsyth. “It is a blessing for the Church in the U.S. to be blessed with such fine shepherds, and we pray for their success as they lead the faithful in the years ahead.”