Name Changes The Laredo area has been divided under several different Catholic jurisdictions since 1777. The
Diocese of Linares o Nueva León was under Spanish, then Mexican control. All of the succeeding vicariates and dioceses were American. • Diocese of Linares o Nueva León (1777 to 1839) • Prefecture Apostolic of Texas (1839 to 1841) • Vicariate Apostolic of Texas (1841 to 1847) •
Diocese of Galveston (1847 to 1974) • Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville (1874 to 1912) •
Diocese of Corpus Christi (1912 to 2000) •
Diocese of San Antonio (1874 to 2000) • Diocese of Laredo (2000 to present)
1700 to 1900 During the 18th century, the Laredo area was part of a province of
New Spain, a colony of the Spanish Empire. Five years after the founding of
San Agustin de Laredo in 1755, its residents petitioned the
Diocese of Guadalajara to provide them with a mission. Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish was erected in 1898 in
Encinal. The first English-speaking parish in Laredo, St. Peter, was established in 1897. The Laredo Pastoral Center was established in 1984 and the Western Vicariate in 1990. On July 3, 2000, the Diocese of Laredo was created by
Pope John Paul II, with territory taken from the Diocese of Corpus Christi and the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The pope named Auxiliary Bishop
James Tamayo of the
Diocese of Galveston-Houston as the first bishop. On May 1, 2026,
Pope Leo XIV accepted Tamayo's resignation (which he had submitted on his 75th birthday as all bishops are required to do per Canon law) and named
Diocese of Tyler priest
John Jairo Gomez as the second and new Bishop of Laredo; Gomez is set to be installed on June 30.
Sex abuse Cyriacus Udegbulem, a priest in bad standing, had worked in Laredo Diocese as a hospital chaplain. On being informed of his background, the Diocese of Laredo dismissed Udegbulem as chaplain in 2001. The alleged victim in New York then decided to press charges against him. After being extradited to New York, Udegbulem went on trial in 2003. The trial ended in June 2003 with a
hung jury. In February 2019, Bishop Tamayo announced that there had been no accusations from the Laredo area against diocesan priests since the founding of the diocese in 2000. ==Bishops==