Bishop Patrick J. Zurek To Celebrate Golden Jubilee

Amarillo—The Faithful of the Diocese of Amarillo are invited to attend and celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Bishop Patrick J. Zurek’s ordination as a priest. A Mass of Thanksgiving will be offered Wednesday, July 23 at 5:30pm at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1200 South Washington.
 
Priests of the Diocese of Amarillo are invited to concelebrate with Bishop Zurek and deacons of the diocese are invited to assist at the Mass. A meal will be served after the Mass in the gym in the Monsignor Francis A. Smyer Activity Center.
 
A native Texan, Bishop Zurek, 76, was born in Sealy on Aug. 17, 1948, the son of Arnold and Victoria (Bohac) Zurek. His family belonged to Guardian Angel Parish in Wallis, where he attended elementary school and high school. After he graduated from the University of St. Thomas, Houston, with a degree in mathematics, Bishop Zurek attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, receiving his Bachelor of Moral Theology from the Angelicum and his Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Alfonsianum in Rome.  
 
Bishop Zurek was ordained a priest in St. Peter’s Basilica by Pope (now St.) Paul VI on June 29, 1975, and served as associate pastor in Temple and Bryan, and established St. Thomas Aquinas Church in College Station. He would also serve at St. John Neumann Church in Austin. Bishop Zurek worked in vocation ministry and became president of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors.
 
Bishop Zurek was named an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio by Pope (now St.) John Paul II on Jan. 5, 1998. He was ordained a bishop during a Feb. 16, 1998 Mass at Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, consecrated by then-Archbishop Patrick F. Flores.
 
In San Antonio, Bishop Zurek assisted Archbishop Flores and Archbishop José H. Gómez in numerous ministries and served as Vicar General and liaison for partnership with the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
 
Bishop Zurek was named the eighth Bishop of Amarillo on Jan. 3, 2008 and was installed as Bishop during a Feb. 22, 2008 Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Church. On Dec. 3, 2024, he became the longest serving Bishop of Amarillo and as of Wednesday, July 23, has been Bishop for 17 years, six months and 20 days.
 
Bishop Zurek serves on a number of national boards, including the USCCB Executive Committee, the Bishop’s Committee on Vocations for the Priesthood and Consecrated Religious Life, the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young Peoples, the Subcommittee for Aid to Central and East Europe and the Subcommittee for the Translation of the Bible into Spanish for all the Americas.
 
Those planning to attend the Mass and meal are asked to RSVP by Friday, July 18 to Joyce Knight in the diocesan office of Development and Stewardship at [email protected].