Bishop Joseph E. Strickland today appointed Very Rev. Anthony Stoeppel, STD, pastor of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Paris, Texas, as Vicar General of the Diocese of Tyler and President of Bishop Gorman Catholic School. Father Stoeppel replaces Rev. Anthony McLaughlin in these two positions.
Father Stoeppel, a native of Texas, was ordained a priest in 2011. He attended Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., and earned a doctorate of sacred theology in the field of bioethics last summer. As vicar general, he will serve with Very Rev. John Gomez, who continues in that position.
“I thank Father McLaughlin for his service in the posts of vicar general and president of Bishop Gorman. Father McLaughlin’s tenure in these offices has been a part of a valuable maturing process for the diocese in which we have achieved much,” said Bishop Strickland. “I am particularly grateful to Father McLaughlin for managing the changeover of the schools to the president-principal model and successfully recruiting our new principal. His reforms of the school will bring benefits to students for years to come. He is one of the most effective pastors and teachers in the diocese, and this change will allow me to make the best use of his talents in the place where they are most needed.”
“As we move forward as a diocese, I am pleased to welcome Father Stoeppel to the chancery team. Father Stoeppel will help us move forward in our maturing process as a diocese. His talents and experience will aid me greatly as we move to implement the Constitution on Teaching and grow the St. Philip Institute and Bishop Gorman Schools,” continued Bishop Strickland.
Bishop Strickland concluded, “As always, I ask the people of the diocese to please pray for all priests. These men dedicate their lives in service to God and are asked to take on many jobs in the course of their ministry. As Ven. Fulton Sheen said, ‘A priest is not his own.’ I am grateful to these good men who take up the Lord’s call to serve.”
