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| POPE NAMES TEXAS SEMINARY RECTOR BISHOP OF SHREVEPORT |
WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI named Msgr. Michael G. Duca, 55, rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, as bishop of Shreveport, Louisiana.
The appointment was announced in Washington, April 1, by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Bishop-elect Duca, a native of Dallas, Texas, was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Dallas, April 29, 1978. He was made a prelate of honor, October 28, 2004.
Michael Gerard Duca was born June 5, 1952, in Dallas. He attended local elementary and secondary schools and received a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and master of divinity degree in theology from the University of Dallas. He attended Holy Trinity Seminary, 1970-1978 and studied canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelican), Rome, 1994-1996.
After several parochial assignments, Bishop-elect Duca served as Catholic chaplain at Southern Methodist University, 1985-1993 and diocesan vocation director, 1985-1992. He was rector of Holy Trinity Seminary from August 1, 1996 until the present.
The Shreveport Diocese has 16 counties. The total population of the diocese is estimated at 788,783 people, with 39,425 of them Catholic.