WASHINGTON (KLTV) – The Rev. John Jairo Gomez, a priest of the Diocese of Tyler, has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the bishop-elect of Laredo.
Friday’s announcement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) came with a statement that Pope Leo XIV had accepted the resignation of Bishop James A. Tamayo from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Laredo.
The church’s Code of Canon Law states that all bishops must submit their resignation at 75. Bishop Tamayo, who is 76, has served in Laredo since 2000, when the diocese was created.
Bishop-elect Gomez, 50, currently serves as vicar general of the Diocese of Tyler. Ordained a priest in 2009, he previously served as pastor at Holy Cross Parish in Pittsburg, Christ the King Parish in Kilgore and St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Frankston.
Bishop Gregory Kelly of the Diocese of Tyler released a statement supporting the announcement.
“His experience in diocesan administration as Judicial Vicar and Vicar General, his experience in parish ministry, and his commitment to Hispanic Ministry will serve well in his new ministry as the second Bishop of Laredo. I am also grateful to Bishop-elect Gomez for his help to me over this last year as a new bishop in Tyler and will miss his presence and ministry.”
Born in Colombia, Gomez earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami in 2004. According to the USCCB, he received a master of divinity from the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 2009 and a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2012.
According to a biography from the Diocese of Tyler, Bishop-elect Gomez also held numerous leadership roles, including judge of the diocesan tribunal, judicial vicar and promoter of justice.
Aside from parish duties, Bishop-elect Gomez has served on the boards of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Tyler, the East Texas Catholic Foundation and the Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry.
Gomez also served as a delegate of the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Tyler, following the removal of Bishop Joseph Strickland in late 2023 until the installation of current Bishop Gregory Kelly in early 2025.
Bishop-elect Gomez is fluent in Spanish, English and Italian, according to a news release. He became a citizen of the United States in 2021. The Diocese of Laredo serves nearly 379,000 Catholics in seven counties along the U.S. border with Mexico.
His installation as bishop of Laredo will be Tuesday, June 30.
The Diocese of Laredo has announced a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday at the Cathedral of San Agustin in Laredo.
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