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Archdiocese of San Antonio To Welcome New Auxiliary Bishop

Courtesy San Antonio Archdiocese
Auxiliary Bishop-Elect Michael Boulette

Pope Francis has nominated a Hill Country priest to be San Antonio's new Auxiliary Bishop. 
 
Monsignor Michael Boulette will be ordained in March and will assist Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller across the growing San Antonio region. Boullette is founder and director of a spiritual training program for priests called 'St. Peter Upon The Water' in Ingram.  The Bishop-Elect says he has mixed emotions about his new role in the Church. 

"I'm very happy where I am right now and so to move is a challenge," Boulette says. "However, I have profound respect for our Holy Father Francis and our Archbishop Gustavo, and because of that, it was possible for me to say yes."
 
Most Catholic Archdioceses have auxiliary bishops. They assist Archbishops at many levels of leading the local Catholic community--including administering the Sacrament of confirmation. 
 
San Antonio has been without one since 2013, when Oscar Cantu was named Bishop of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Archbishop Garcia-Siller says it's been too long, but Boulette is worth the wait.
 
"I needed someone with the mind of Pope Francis," Garcia-Siller says. "I needed someone who was able to bridge between the rich and the poor."
 
Boulette, 66,  has been a priest for more than 40 years, including at Notre Dame Church in Kerrville and at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio. 
 
Boulette's ordination is scheduled for March 20 at 2:00pm in San Antonio. The exact location is not yet determined.