Michael James Sis (born January 9, 1960) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as the Bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

since 2013.

Early life and education

Michael James Sis was born on January 9, 1960, in

Mt. Holly, New Jersey Mount Holly is a township that is the county seat of Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth largest city as of 2020, As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's populati ...

. He was the fourth of five children born to Raymond and Janice (née Murphy) Sis. The family later moved to

Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of College S ...

, where he attended St. Joseph School and the Bryan Independent School District. As a teenager, he volunteered in

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

and youth programs in his parish. Sis graduated from Bryan High School in 1978. Sis earned a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

degree in 1982 from the Moreau Seminary at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in Notre Dame, Indiana. Sis spent a summer of missionary service in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. He continued his studies in Rome, earning a

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

degree from the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

and a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, whose teachings inspired the establishment of the Academy. The Pontifical Alphonsian Academy (; ), also commonly known as the Alphonsianum, is a pontifical institution of higher education founded in 1949 by the Re ...

. While in Rome, Sis performed volunteer work with

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

refugees.

Priesthood

Sis was ordained a priest by Bishop John E. McCarthy for the Diocese of Austin on July 19, 1986. After his ordination, Sis was assigned as the associate pastor at Cristo Rey Parish in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. He took on the additional task of associate pastor in campus ministry at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in College Station, Texas in 1989. From 1990 to 1992, Sis served as the associate pastor at St. Mary's Cathedral Parish in Austin. He then returned to Texas A&M as associate pastor in 1992. Sis served as pastor at the university from 1993 to 2006. In 2006, Sis left Texas A&M to become the vocation director for the diocese. He was reassigned in 2009 as pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Austin, then in 2010 was named the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

and

moderator of the curia Moderator of the curia is a top administrative position held by a Catholic priest in a diocese under the supervision of the bishop. The moderator coordinates the exercise of the administrative duties and oversees the office holders, or curia, i ...

of the diocese until 2013. Sis also served on the

Presbyteral Council A presbyteral council or council of priests is a group of priests chosen to assist the local ordinary in an advisory capacity in the governance of a Roman Catholic diocese. Canon 495 of the Code of Canon Law lays down that every diocese must have ...

, the Priest Personnel Board, the College of Consultors, the Vocation Team, the Permanent Diaconate Admissions Committee, and the Bishop's Advisory Council.

Bishop of San Angelo

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named Sis as the bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo on December 12, 2013. He was consecrated a bishop on January 27, 2014, by Archbishop

Gustavo García-Siller Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S. (born December 21, 1956) is a Mexican-American prelate of the Catholic Church. He has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas since 2010. He previously served as an auxiliary bish ...

; Bishop Michael Pfeifer and Bishop Joe S. Vásquez were the co-consecrators. The liturgy was celebrated in the Junell Center at

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas. It was founded in 1928 as San Angelo College. It gained university status and awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1967 and graduate degrees in 1969, the same year it too ...

in San Angelo, Texas. Sis's father, Deacon Raymond Sis, assisted at the consecration.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of San AngeloRoman Catholic Diocese of Austin

Episcopal succession