Michael Sis Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:His Excellency, The Most Reverend
Michael James Sis
Bishop of San Angelo
See:Diocese of San Angelo
Appointed:December 12, 2013
Enthroned:January 27, 2014
Predecessor:Michael David Pfeifer
Ordination:July 19, 1986
Ordained By:John E. McCarthy
Consecration:January 27, 2014
Consecrated By:Gustavo García-Siller, Michael David Pfeifer, and Joe S. Vásquez
Birth Date:9 January 1960
Birth Place:Mt. Holly, New Jersey, US
Motto:Dei sumus audiutores
(We are God's co-workers)
Education:University of Notre Dame
Alphonsian Academy
Pontifical Gregorian University
Michael James Sis
Dipstyle:
Offstyle:Your Excellency
Relstyle:Bishop

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 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.[1] The family later moved to Bryan, Texas, where he attended St. Joseph School. As a teenager, he volunteered in religious education and youth programs in his parish. Sis graduated from Bryan High School in 1978.[2]

Sis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy degree in 1982 from the Moreau Seminary at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. Sis spent a summer of missionary service in Tanzania. He continued his studies in Rome, earning a Bachelor of Theology degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Alphonsian Academy of the Pontifical Lateran University. While in Rome, Sis performed volunteer work with Ethiopian refugees.[3]

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.[4] 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 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 and moderator of the curia 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 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; Bishop Michael Pfeifer and Bishop Joe S. Vásquez were the co-consecrators. The liturgy was celebrated in the Junell Center at Angelo State University 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.[5]

Viewpoints

Anti-Semitism

In December 2023, Sis organized an interfaith Hanukkah celebration to emphasize his condemnation of anti-semitism and support for Jews.[6]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pope names two new bishops for Mississippi and Texas. Catholic News Agency. 2014-02-01.
  2. Web site: Bishop Michael J. Sis. 2022-01-04. Diocese of San Angelo. en.
  3. Web site: Pope Names Bishops for Mississippi, Texas Dioceses . United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2014-01-31.
  4. Web site: Bishop Michael James Sis. catholic-hierarchy.org. 2014-01-31.
  5. Web site: Tufts . John . List of San Angelo-area priests credibly accused with sexually abusing children released . 2024-04-06 . Standard-Times . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2023-12-15 . Amid rising anti-Semitism, Texas bishop leads interfaith Hanukkah celebration . 2024-04-06 . Crux . en.