Shreveport has a new bishop!!!

As we had rumored a few weeks ago, Shreveport will have a new bishop very soon... Monsignor Michael Duca, the longtime rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, will be wearing the bishop's miter. The tentative date for ordination/installation is set for May 19th, so mark your calendars... I think the schola had better start working on a few ordination-type chants... just in case our services are needed!
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Here is the web posting from the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans in Shreveport...

See the article at Whispers in the Loggia...
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Dallas News release:

Pope Appoints Duca to Lead Diocese of Shreveport
Dallas Seminary Rector Named New Bishop
(Dallas) A Dallas native will be the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, Louisiana. The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, announced this morning that His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, has appointed Reverend Monsignor Michael Duca of the Diocese of Dallas to serve as only the second bishop of Shreveport.
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Bishop-elect Duca’s appointment comes just one month away from his 30th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood in Dallas on April 29, 1978. He has served as the Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas since 1996. He has also served on numerous boards and commissions in the Diocese of Dallas including: the College of Consultors, Presbyteral Council, Personnel Board, the Commission for Orders and on the Diocesan Tribunal, presently as a Judge and as Associate Judicial Vicar. He is currently the Director of the Office for the On-going Formation of Priests. He is also a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus and a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher.
Early in his priesthood, Bishop-elect Duca served as Associate Pastor at several parishes in the Diocese of Dallas including: All Saints, St Patrick and St. Luke. He also served as Campus Minister at Southern Methodist University from 1985-1992 and as Vocations Director for the diocese from 1985-1992.
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In 1994 he was chosen for further studies in Canon Law. He attended the University of Saint Thomas in Rome (The Angelicum) where he graduated with a License in Canon Law in 1996. Upon his return from Rome, he was appointed to serve as Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary. Bishop-elect Duca has served as rector until the present.
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At the announcement of the news, Bishop-elect Duca said “I am humbled and honored by the Pope’s decision to appoint me as Bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport. It is an incredible blessing that I look forward to, but not without some mixed emotions. My 30 years as a priest in the Diocese of Dallas have been a very enriching experience. The opportunity to serve in parishes and to work with the future priests of our diocese as rector of Holy Trinity Seminary has helped me to grow as a minister and person.”
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The Most Reverend Kevin Farrell, Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, issued words of support stating “I am delighted and thrilled for Bishop-elect Duca. The diocese has benefited from his ministry, his leadership and his many other talents. I will miss his support here but I am pleased the Diocese of Shreveport is getting such a strong and capable spiritual leader. We will pray for his success and happiness.”
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The new bishop-elect, son of Lewis and Aline Duca of Dallas, was born June 5, 1952. He was baptized at Sacred Heart Cathedral now the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School through eighth grade and is a 1970 graduate of Bishop Lynch High School. Since Holy Trinity was a collaborative seminary with the University of Dallas at the time of his studies, Duca received both a B.A in Psychology and a M.Div. in Theology from UD.
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Bishop –elect Duca will be ordained a bishop and installed as the Chief Shepherd of the Diocese of Shreveport in a ceremonial Mass tentatively set for May 19th in Shreveport.