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January 03, 2008 |
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| Bishop John Yanta |
Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop John W. Yanta, 76, as bishop of Amarillo, Texas, and named San Antonio Auxiliary Bishop Patrick J. Zurek, 59, to succeed him.
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| Bishop Patrick Zurek |
"I wish to express my gratitude to our present Holy Father Benedict XVI for his confidence in me continuing as Diocesan Bishop these 15 months after my 75th birthday," stated Bishop Yanta. "I have loved and enjoyed my tenure as Bishop of Amarillo."
"Your new Diocesan Bishop has been a bishop for ten years, speaks Spanish fluently and has great experience in evangelizing, shepherding, teaching, sanctifying, and serving the People of God," continued Bishop Yanta. "He has many years of fruitful experience in mission work in Honduras in a joint collaboration with the Diocese of Amarillo. Both as a priest and a bishop, your new diocesan pastor has been committed to Pro-Life ministry. Your new shepherd has earned through experience a reputation for his respected ecclesial and pastoral relationship with all."
Archbishop José Gomez of the Archdiocese of San Antonio also praised Bishop Zurek, stating, "Bishop Patrick Zurek has been a blessing in many ways to me personally and to all the people of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. All who have worked alongside him will miss a good friend and a talented and dedicated bishop. However, I am happy that the Diocese of Amarillo will now benefit from his inspired leadership and dedication. For nearly a decade Bishop Zurek ministered effectively in a variety of areas throughout the Archdiocese of San Antonio. His ability to work with a collaborative spirit enriched the implementation of the Archdiocesan Synod, ACTS Missions, Assumption Seminary, CTSA and many other ministries and initiatives."
Bishop Zurek, a native of Wallis, Texas, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Austin, Texas, in 1975. He was ordained a bishop in 1998.
Patrick Zurek was born on August 17, 1948. He attended local elementary and secondary schools and received his bachelor's degree in mathematics and chemistry from the University of Houston. He also attended the Seminary of St. Mary, studying philosophy at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, and the North American College, Rome, studying theology at the Angelicum University. Subsequently he earned a licentiate in moral theology at the Alphonsian Academy, Rome.
After several parochial assignments, Bishop Zurek served as pastor of St. Thomas Church, College Station, Texas, and pastor of St. John Neumann Church, Austin, and as diocesan director of vocations. He also served as vice president and president of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocations Directors.
As a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Zurek served on the Committee on the North American College and the Ad Hoc Committee for the Spanish Language Bible.
His installation will be on Feb. 22 at 1 p.m. in Amarillo.
The Amarillo Diocese has 26 counties and 25,800 square miles, and includes the part of Texas known as the Panhandle. The total population of the diocese is estimated at 422,428 people, with 41,692 of them Catholic.
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