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 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 ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

since 2013.

Biography

Early life and education

Michael Sis was born on January 9, 1960, in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. 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 in 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 C ...

, where he attended St. Joseph School. 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 t ...

and youth programs in his parish. Sis graduated from Bryan High School in 1978. Sis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy 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; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

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

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. He continued his studies in Rome, earning a

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

degree 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 ...

and a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, Alphonsus 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 Redempt ...

of the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

. 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, at St. Louis Church in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

.After his 1986 ordination, the diocese assigned Sis as associate pastor at Cristo Rey Parish in Austin. 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, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in College Station, Texas in 1989. From 1990 to 1992, Sis left Cristo Rey and the university to serve 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 or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

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, in ...

of the diocese. Sis also served on the presbyteral council, 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 (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 Sis as the bishop 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 served as an auxiliary bishop of the ...

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

Junell Center Junell Center/Stephens Arena is a 6,500 seat multi-purpose arena in San Angelo, Texas. It was built in 2001. It is the home of the Angelo State University Rams & Ram Belles' basketball teams and the Ram Belles' volleyball team. It features a 9 ...

Angelo State University Angelo State University is a public university in San Angelo, Texas, United States. 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 s ...

in San Angelo, Texas. Sis's father, Deacon Raymond Sis, assisted at the consecration. Sis in January 2019 released a list of 13 clerics from the diocese with credible accusations of sexual abuse of children.

Viewpoints

Anti-Semitism

In December 2023, Sis organized an interfaith

Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

celebration to emphasize his condemnation of anti-semitism and support for Jews.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of San AngeloRoman Catholic Diocese of Austin

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sis, Michael 1960 births Living people People from Mount Holly, New Jersey Clergy from Austin, Texas People from San Angelo, Texas University of Notre Dame alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Texas Catholics from New Jersey Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre