Bishop Cepeda returns to Texas archdiocese after 14 years in the Archdiocese of Detroit, serving in national Hispanic ministry roles
DETROIT — Bishop Arturo Cepeda is heading home.
Pope Leo XIV announced Aug. 26 that the longtime Detroit auxiliary bishop, 56, will become the newest auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, where he will assist Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, MSpS, in leading an archdiocese that spans 19 counties in south-central Texas with a Catholic population of 1.16 million.
In moving to San Antonio, Bishop Cepeda, a native of Mexico, returns to the archdiocese where he lived as a teenager and heard his initial call to the priesthood.
“With the joy of the Gospel in my heart, I am writing you, dear community of the Archdiocese of Detroit, to share that the Holy Father, Leo XIV, has called me to serve in the Archdiocese of San Antonio,” Bishop Cepeda said in a statement. “With the excitement of one embarking on a new journey, but also with the sadness of leaving a beloved family, I give thanks to God, to our Holy Father, to Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, and all of you.”
Bishop Cepeda will be re-introduced to the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Antonio during an 11 a.m. EDT press conference.
Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger thanked Bishop Cepeda for his 14 years of service to the people of God in southeast Michigan and assured him that he will be in the prayers of the faithful across the Archdiocese of Detroit.
“Our beloved brother in Christ, Bishop Arturo Cepeda, has been transferred to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, his former home,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “His 14 years of generous service to the people of our archdiocese are a tremendous gift for which we will be forever grateful. On behalf of the faithful, our deacons and priests, our brother bishops, I wish him every blessing, success, and joy.”
Bishop Cepeda was appointed the 28th auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit by Pope Benedict XVI on April 18, 2011. He was subsequently ordained a bishop by then-Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit on May 5, 2011, alongside now-retired Auxiliary Bishop Donald F. Hanchon and the late Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes of Agaña, Guam.
At the time of his episcopal ordination, Bishop Cepeda was the youngest bishop in the United States at age 41.
As an auxiliary bishop, Bishop Cepeda served as the regional moderator of the Archdiocese of Detroit's Northwest Region (Oakland and Lapeer counties), and most recently, the Central Region (the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park).
In addition to assisting Archbishop Vigneron and later Archbishop Weisenburger with the sacramental care of the faithful of the archdiocese, Bishop Cepeda has taken a leading role in the local Church's ministry to Hispanic and Spanish-speaking Catholics, often celebrating Mass during Hispanic men’s and women’s conferences and leading celebrations during the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Bishop Cepeda has also served in prominent roles on the Church's national stage, including as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs, as well as the bishops' Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. Bishop Cepeda also played a key organizing role in the Fifth National Encuentro (“Encounter”) of Hispanic/Latino Ministry, where he had the chance to present the findings from the U.S. diocesan and regional encuentros to Pope Francis in 2019.
Bishop Cepeda also served as director of the Archdiocese of Detroit's former Department of Evangelization, Catechesis and Schools from 2013-17, and as a trustee of Madonna University.
“I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me and for the opportunity I had to serve for 14 years in this archdiocese,” Bishop Cepeda said in his message to Detroit's faithful. “My episcopal ministry undoubtedly took shape here, my temporary home. As I begin my new mission, know that I hold you in my prayers and humbly ask that you keep me in yours.”
Bishop Cepeda was born on May 15, 1969, in San Luis Potosi, SLP, Mexico, to Jose Cepeda and Maria del Socorro Escobedo. He received his elementary and high school education in Catholic schools in San Luis Potosi and began discerning the priesthood.
He completed a year of spiritual formation and began philosophy studies at Seminario Arquidiocesano Guadalupano Josefino in San Luis Potosi before his family moved to San Antonio, Texas, when he was 19.
Bishop Cepeda continued his formation at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, earning a bachelor’s in religious studies with a minor in psychology from the College Seminary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Bishop Cepeda earned a Master of Divinity from Assumption Seminary in San Antonio before progressing to St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where he earned a Master of the Arts in biblical studies. Bishop Cepeda also has a Licentiate and Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome.
Bishop Cepeda was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Antonio on June 1, 1996, by Archbishop Patrick F. Flores at St. Mary Magdalen Church in San Antonio, his home parish.
Bishop Cepeda served as a parochial vicar at San Fernando Cathedral while being a faculty member, and later, as vice rector and later rector at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio.
He also served as vocations director and a faculty member for two formational programs in the Texas archdiocese.
After serving in the Archdiocese of Detroit for 14 years, Bishop Cepeda will now be returning to his roots, said San Antonio Archbishop Garcia-Siller.
“We are deeply grateful to Pope Leo for appointing Bishop Cepeda as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and we are similarly grateful to Bishop Cepeda for accepting this new ministry,” Archbishop Garcia-Siller said.
“We are particularly glad to offer a heartfelt welcome home to Bishop Cepeda. San Antonio is where he grew up and first heard the Lord call him and nurture his priestly vocation," Archbishop Garcia-Siller added. "Having served the church in the upper Midwest and on numerous committees for the U.S. bishops for the past 14 years, Bishop Cepeda brings back to the Archdiocese of San Antonio valuable perspectives that will assist us in our evangelization efforts to spread the Gospel with missionary zeal.”
The Archdiocese of San Antonio will officially welcome Bishop Cepeda during a pair of special Masses on Oct. 12 at San Fernando Cathedral.
