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Editor: Bishop, this March we celebrate the ninth anniversary of your installation as the bishop of Austin. Give us the state of this diocese. What is happening right now?
Bishop Vásquez: The Diocese of Austin is extremely blessed. The church here in Central Texas is alive and thriving. We continue to experience tremendous growth and development throughout our diocese, not just here in Austin, but also in the Temple-Waco area and in the Bryan-College Station area. Just before he died, Bishop John McCarthy and I had a conversation about the abundant growth he had witnessed since he was installed as bishop of Austin in 1986. It was interesting to listen to him talk about the changes he witnessed during his time here.
What impresses me most of all is the great love, devotion and faith of our people in the Diocese of Austin. Our greatest gift we have is our people; who love Christ, who love the church, who are serving, who are faithful, who week after week are committed to serving God and his church. At the beginning of February, we celebrated the annual Diocesan Catholic Youth Convention in Waco. What a blessing it was to have thousands of our teenagers celebrating their Catholic faith together. We are blessed to have outstanding priests who bring Christ to others, especially through the sacraments, preaching and pastoral care. Our clergy and religious men and women serve selflessly and work daily to lead others to Christ.
Since last year our church has been suffering. This has been a painful time as we face the sexual abuse crisis. However, Christ promised to be with his church always and I continue to encounter Jesus in our midst.
Editor: How have you seen the diocese change over the last nine years?
Bishop Vásquez: Our diocese has surely grown in the last nine years. One sign of this is the number of new or expanded churches, catechetical buildings and parish activity centers that have been built. The number of new events is also a sign of our growth. We now have a men’s conference (held in February) and a women’s conference (held in September). Our men and women want to strengthen their faith; they want to live their faith well, and pass it on to their children and the next generation.
The number of confirmations has also increased since I first arrived. Presently, I am annually celebrating nearly 100 confirmation liturgies. According to our diocesan statistics, in 2009 there were 4,308 youth confirmed; in 2017, 5,668 youth were confirmed. That is a substantial increase! The Diocese of Austin was blessed for a few years to have the assistance of our Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Garcia, but now with his departure, I will have to delegate some confirmations to pastors.
There are now more than 200,000 college students in our diocese, which means our campus ministry programs have also grown substantially over the last few decades. We have thriving programs now at Texas A&M University in College Station, the University of Texas in Austin, Baylor University in Waco and Texas State University in San Marcos as well as at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton, Blinn College in Brenham and Southwestern University in Georgetown.
We are also blessed with great cultural diversity in Central Texas. We have the Czechs, the Germans, the Polish, the Mexicans, the Africans, the Vietnamese and the Koreans who have been here for many generations. They, of course, share their cultures with us; we enjoy their food, their music and their celebrations. More recently we have other cultures that are moving here and showing the beauty of their Catholic faith. The Indian community here in Central Texas is very committed to the church and very involved. The Filipino community is also thriving as we see with the celebrations of Simbang Gabi during Advent. All of these cultures coming together helps the faith grow and be enriched.
Editor: Do you now consider Austin your home?
Bishop Vásquez: Yes, the Diocese of Austin is definitely my home. My heart is here with the people of this diocese. I am blessed to see them growing in faith, which has greatly encouraged my faith. The priests, deacons, religious and lay people have enriched my faith and strengthened me. They give me hope, and they are my friends. Together, we are disciples in the Lord Jesus, which is the most important thing. We are all following the same Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and sharing his Good News with the others.
It brings me great joy to visit our parishes and to celebrate Mass with the people. I love to see the faces of our people who obviously love God. They know that God is present; and yes, they might have struggles at home, they might be facing an illness or searching for work yet they come with their families to find strength in the celebration of the Eucharist. They come with their children because they want to pass on their faith to others. As St. John Paul II reminded us, “The church draws her life from the Eucharist.” The Eucharistic sacrifice is the “source and summit of the Christian life.”
Editor: What are your hopes and prayers for the diocese?
Bishop Vásquez: I hope that we the church in Central Texas will rejoice in the abundant blessings God has given us and invite others to participate in this great and dynamic Catholic faith. May we continue to pass on the great treasure of faith that has been given to us so that others may benefit from God’s love. As we begin the season of Lent, I pray that we entrust ourselves to God. I also turn to Mary, our Mother, asking for her intercession, her help and her love. May the Catholic Church, and in particular the Diocese of Austin, continue to flourish in the love of Christ.