Pope Francis names new bishop for Beaumont, Texas

By Vatican News

Pope Francis on Monday named Monsignor David L. Toups as the new bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas, USA.

Monsignor Toups, a priest of the Diocese of St Petersburg, Florida, has been serving as Rector of St Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach.

He succeeds Bishop Curtis J. Guillory, S.V.D., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese was accepted by the Holy Father.

Curriculum vitae of Monsignor David L. Toups

Bishop-elect Toups was born on March 26, 1971 in Seattle, Washington, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1997 for the Diocese of Saint Petersburg.

Monsignor Toups attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland before entering St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Theology in 1993. He attended the Pontifical North American College in Rome and obtained a Bachelor of Sacred Theology and Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum).

His assignments after ordination include: Parochial Vicar at St. Francis Cabrini Parish in Spring Hill (1997-2001); doctoral studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (2002-2004), Assistant Dean of Students (2004) and Dean of Students (2004-2006) at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach; the Administrative Council, Faculty Council and Seminary Formation Team, and Professor of Sacramental and Liturgical Theology at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary (2004-2006).

Between 2007-2010, Monsignor Toups was released from diocesan assignment to serve as the Associate Director of the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington. He returned to the Diocese of Saint Petersburg in 2010 and served as Pastor of Christ the King Parish in Tampa (2010-2012) before being named as President and Rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in 2012 where he currently serves.

Bishop-elect Toups has also served as a member of the diocesan Presbyteral Council (1997-2001), the National Board of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils (1997-2001), and as Observer for Region IV to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ November meetings from 2000-2002.

He is fluent in English and Spanish, and has familiarity with Italian.

The Diocese of Beaumont is comprised of 7,878 square miles in the State of Texas and has a total population of 643,798 of which 68,597 are Catholic.