In his first official remarks Friday as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson’s new bishop, James Misko recalled his mother teaching him how to pray and how to love God.
“There were days when we would drive around, a typical summer day like a Tuesday, and she would pull into the church and I would say, ‘Mom, why are you going into church?’” said Misko, inciting light laughter from the nearly 1,500 people in attendance Friday afternoon at St. Augustine Cathedral downtown for his installation as bishop.
“‘We’re going to pay a visit’ (she'd say). And we would go in, we would kneel for five minutes, and then we would get back to the car,” said Misko.
Misko, whose hometown is Austin, Texas, flowed between English and Spanish effortlessly in his bilingual speech as he assumed the lead of a 43,000-square-mile diocese serving 400,000 Catholics in nine counties: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Gila, La Paz, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz and Yuma. He is the diocese's eighth bishop since it was established in 1897.
The installation took place two days after Ash Wednesday, the first day marking the start of Lent season, a 40-day solemn Christian season of fasting, prayer and penance. The ceremony had 200 priests from Tucson and Austin in attendance, 80 deacons, 22 bishops from around the country and one cardinal, along with community members and churchgoers from Austin as well as from the Tucson area.
Political officials, including U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos and Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, were also present and were given the opportunity to go to the stage and shake hands with the bishop.
The newly ordained bishop, James Misko, walks through the congregation as part of Friday's ceremony ordaining him as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Tucson.
The cathedral, with a solemn and quiet but joyful atmosphere, was filled with men in suits and women in colorful dresses, some with embroidered black or white scarves covering their bowed heads. Catholic dignitaries lined up outside the church in flowing black or white robes with intricate symbols, paired with different-colored sashes and shoulder capes.
The ordination ceremony, conducted both in English and Spanish, started with a procession of dignitaries filing into the church, a few holding long lighted candles, as the choir sung in the background. Once all were seated on stage, the audience took their seats, and the ceremony started.
Misko started his remarks — delivered at the end of the two-hour ceremony — by thanking God, whose “experience, prominence and the working of the Holy Spirit” inspired the worldly Father, Pope Leo XIV, to name him the eighth bishop of Tucson, he said. He then thanked Christophe Cardinal Pierre, who was representing the pope, saying his presence drew the gathering close to the Holy Father.
“In calling James Misko to serve as the eighth bishop of Tucson, the Holy Father entrusts this diocese to this pastor shaped by years of concrete responsibility,” said Cardinal Pierre.
James Misko, as the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, performs the rite of Holy Communion at his ordination and installation ceremony Friday at St. Augustine Cathedral.
“His service as a parish priest, as vicar general and as diocesan administrator has immersed him in the daily realities of ecclesial life, listening carefully, discerning faithfully and accompanying God’s people with patience and care,” Pierre continued as Misko sat on the side listening intently. “This is formation shaped by service and lived experience. The Diocese of Tucson is marked by a rich human and cultural landscape where faith lives close to the ground and the Gospel is proclaimed amid real challenges and real hope.”
Pierre read out Pope Leo XIV’s official decree naming Misko bishop, which Misko then showcased to the audience by holding it and walking around the church twice. The audience applauded thunderously the whole time.
Misko succeeds Edward J. Weisenburger, who was appointed archbishop of Detroit a year ago. He thanked former Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, who has been serving in an interim role leading the diocese after Weisenburger's departure, for coming out of his “well-deserved time of rest and relaxation” yet again, making the audience erupt in laughter again.
He also thanked John C. Wester, the archbishop of Santa Fe, for ordaining him and for his service to the church in Tucson, across Arizona and in New Mexico.
“One of the first things I noticed about James is that he has a wonderful smile and a laugh that comes deeply from within,” Archbishop Wester said of Misko.
“He’s a joyful person. God is with him,” he said. “We are commuting on a mission sent forth from this altar to put God’s love and our love into concrete action … caring for the poor and vulnerable, promoting access to health care and affordable housing, advocating for the rights of the workers and their protection, advocating for peace.”
James Misko prepares for his first communion rite as the bishop of the Tucson diocese at his installation Friday.
Patricia Nagore, a native Tucsonan who attended the ceremony Friday, said Misko’s entire personality and his character radiate through his smile. “He’s ready to be here for the people,” she said after the ordination.
He is "very personable, very lovely and approachable, just like Kicanas is and Weisenburger,” said Nagore, who’s had a meet-and-greet with Misko. “They’re just beautiful souls, perfect for our diocese. We’re excited,” she said.
After his remarks, Wester went on to ordain Misko by listing a series of solemn promises — affirming the bishop’s commitment to uphold the faith, obey the church and shepherd the people — to which Misko pledged his allegiance as he stood in front of him with his hands folded in devotion. This was followed by everyone on stage and in the audience kneeling, while Misko lay on the floor with hands still folded.
Many Texans from Austin, who attended Misko's previous churches, were present in Tucson on Friday as a show of support, and stated he will be missed there.
“They’re going to absolutely love him. He is a gifted priest and now bishop,” said Jeff Kress after the ceremony. “Frankly, my wife and I, we’ve talked about it a lot. We’ve been able to watch him grow in holiness. His homilies are superb, and he just loves the Lord … He’s kind but he’s also direct, which is a very good thing. He’ll be firm when he needs to be, he’ll be gentle when he needs to be.”
James Misko shows his certification as the new bishop of Tucson to the congregation gathered for his ordination and installation ceremony Friday at St. Augustine Cathedral.
Misko, who was born in California, was raised in Austin, Texas, where he spent most of his life and also served as a pastor at St. Louis King of France parish, where he had attended Catholic school as a child. After his graduation from St. Edward's University in Austin with a bachelor's degree in communications, he worked in the restaurant industry for several years before going on to earn a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, a master of divinity and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology at the University of St. Thomas and St. Mary's Seminary in Houston.
When he was 30 years old, he joined a seminary, and then was ordained a priest on June 9, 2007. He was made the parochial vicar of St. Elizabeth in Pflugerville, Texas, after which he served as pastor of Christ the King in Belton and St. Louis King of France in Austin.
On what he called a momentous day, Misko told his audience Friday: “I will learn much from you and in advance of that, I thank you for helping me be a good bishop. I also thank you for being open to learning much from me, and together, as we grow in wisdom and in holiness, we will be well together. …
"I am yours. I give myself to you,” he said, stirring energetic applause.
