Msgr. Michael Duca update...

Yesterday at about 10:00 am, Monsignor Michael Duca was officially introduced at a press conference at the chancery... here is an excerpt from the news story:

Applause greeted the new bishop-elect of Shreveport before he was officially introduced at a press conference this morning.Pope Benedict XVI named Msgr. Michael Gerard Duca, of the Diocese of Dallas, as the second bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport today.

“I should thank Pope Benedict XVI for this awesome and exciting blessing,” he said to a group of media, priests and diocesan staff. “It’s a great joy to come to this diocese.”

Duca will fill the seat left vacant when Bishop William Friend retired in December 2006.Since he is a priest, he will be ordained bishop and installed as the head of the Shreveport diocese in a joint ceremony. It is tentatively set for May 19.

Duca, 55, is a Dallas native and attended Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, where he is now the rector. Ordained in 1978, he has also served as vocations director for the diocese, campus minister at Southern Methodist University and associate pastor at several Dallas churches.

“This is a great day for the diocese,” said the Rev. Peter Mangum, pastor of the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans. “I believe the holy father has matched the right person with his background in priestly ministry, vocations and law.”

Some data about the Shreveport diocese:

Diocese of Shreveport by the numbers

11,133 square miles

40,000 Catholics

27 parishes

14 quasi-parishes

7 schools

2 early childhood centers

38 active priests

21 permanent deacons

3 active seminarians

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Bishop-elect Duca will be the second bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport, which is located in northwestern Louisiana.

This information courtesy of the Shreveport Times.

A video of the announcement can be seen here...

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One more bit of information from Zenit:

Established in 1986, The Diocese of Shreveport covers 11,124 square miles in 16 civil parishes and has a current total population of 788,793, of whom approximately 39,425 are Catholic.

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Also check out James' (Opinionated Catholic) blog entry on the subject here...