Michael Gerard Duca (born June 5, 1952) 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 ...

who has been serving as

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Diocese of Baton Rouge The Diocese of Baton Rouge (Latin ''Dioecesis Rubribaculensis''; French ''Diocèse de Bâton-Rouge''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Baton Rouge''), is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in the Florida Parishes region of the U.S. state of ...

in Louisiana since his installation on August 24, 2018. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport in Louisiana from 2008 to 2018.

Biography

Early life

Michael Duca was born on June 5, 1952, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He attended elementary school in Dallas and graduated from

Bishop Lynch High School Bishop Lynch High School is a college preparatory school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas founded by the Dominican Order in Dallas, Texas, United States. The school serves grades 9–12. It opened in 1963 with 365 students and now has ov ...

in Dallas in 1970. Duca attended

Holy Trinity Seminary Holy Trinity Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary residence in Irving, Texas, United States, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Diocese of Dallas, Texas that is located within the University of Dallas campus, founded in 1964. It is headed ...

in Irving, Texas, from 1970 to 1978.

Priesthood

Duca was ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas Tschoepe for the Diocese of Dallas at St. Thomas Aquinas Church on April 29, 1978, in Dallas. After his 1978 ordination, the diocese assigned Duca to pastoral roles at the following Texas parishes: * All Saints Catholic in Dallas * St. Patrick Catholic in Dallas * St. Luke Catholic in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

In 1986, Duca was appointed as vocations director for the diocese and as chaplain at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

in Dallas. In 1994, Duca traveled to Rome to study at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, receiving a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1996. After returning to Texas in 1996, Duca was named rector of Holy Trinity Seminary, a position he would hold until 2008.

Bishop of Shreveport

Duca was appointed as bishop of Shreveport by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on April 1 2008. He was consecrated by Archbishop Alfred Hughes on May 19, 2008, at the Shreveport Convention Center, with approximately 3,000 people in attendance. Archbishop Michael Sheehan and Bishop

Kevin Farrell Kevin Joseph Farrell (born 2 September 1947) is an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who has served as the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life since 2016, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church since 2019, and presiden ...

were the co-consecrators. Duca was one of the regular panelists on the '' American Religious Townhall'' television program.

Bishop of Baton Rouge

Duca was appointed on June 26, 2018, by

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 ...

as the sixth bishop of Baton Rouge, succeeding Bishop Robert Muench, who retired. Duca was installed by Hughes on August 24, 2018.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duca, Michael Living people 1952 births People from Shreveport, Louisiana Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni University of Dallas alumni Catholics from Louisiana 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States