Brendan John Cahill (born November 28, 1963) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Victoria in Texas since 2015.

Early life

Brendan Cahill was born on November 28, 1963, in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

to Joe and Joan Cahill. After his family moved to Houston in 1971, Cahill attended St. Cecilia Catholic School in Houston and graduated in 1981 from St. Thomas High School in the same city. He then spent a year at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

in Houston, but left after deciding to become a priest. Cahill enrolled in 1982 in St. Mary's Seminary and the University of St. Thomas, both in Houston. Cahill earned a

Bachelor of Psychology A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (de ...

degree from St. Thomas in 1985 and a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree in 1990.

Priesthood

Cahill was ordained a priest by Archbishop

Joseph Fiorenza Joseph Anthony Fiorenza (January 25, 1931 – September 19, 2022) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the seventh bishop and the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas, serving from 1985 to 2006 ...

for the

Diocese of Galveston-Houston In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

on May 19, 1990 at St. Michael's Church in Houston. After his 1990 ordination, the diocese assigned Cahill served as an associate pastor at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Houston. In 1992, he was transferred to Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in

Spring, Texas Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 United States cens ...

. Cahill left Good Shepherd in 1994 to attend

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic Historically black c ...

in New Orleans, He received a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree from Xavier that specialized on the experience and theology of

African-American Catholics African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

that same year. Cahill then went to Rome to attend the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

. He was awarded a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology in 1996 and a Doctor of Fundamental Theology degree in 1999 from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. In 1999, Cahill returned to Texas, where joined the faculty of St. Mary's Seminary. Cahill was appointed rector of St. Mary in 2001. That same year, Fiorenza named Cahill as director of the Secretariat for Clergy Formation and Chaplaincy Services.

Bishop of Victoria

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

named Cahill as bishop of Victoria on April 23, 2015. He was installed and consecrated on June 29, 2015, by Cardinal

Daniel DiNardo Daniel Nicholas DiNardo (born May 23, 1949) is an American Catholic retired prelate who served as Archbishop of Galveston-Houston from 2006 to 2025. He previously served as Coadjutor and later Bishop of Sioux City from 1997 to 2004. On Novem ...

. Fiorenza and Bishop David Fellhauer were the co-consecrators. The liturgy was celebrated in Our Lady of Victory Cathedral in Victoria. On January 21, 2019, Cahill publicly named three priests from the diocese with credible accusations of

sexual abuse of minors Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

. The investigation, run by an outside attorney, covered all allegations dating back to the founding of the diocese in 1982. One priest, Reverend David L. Collela, was retired and a second priest, Reverend Guido Miguel Quiroz Reyes, was deceased. The third priest, Reverend Alfred Prado, had been

laicized In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The ...

and had left the country. Cahill speaks English, Spanish and Italian, and has a working knowledge of French and German. Cahill has also served as an associate chaplain of the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

, of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, and he is a fourth degree member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria Official Site

Episcopal succession