Bishop Brendan J. Cahill appointed to lead Diocese of Joliet

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Brendan J. Cahill as the new bishop of the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois. The announcement was made in Washington on September 17 by Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Cahill, who has led the Diocese of Victoria, Texas, since 2015, also serves as the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration. He succeeds Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, who was appointed archbishop of New York in December 2025. Since Hicks' departure, the Diocese of Joliet has been managed by apostolic administrator Auxiliary Bishop Dennis E.

Born in Coral Gables, Florida, Bishop Cahill holds degrees from the University of St. Thomas in Houston and Xavier University in New Orleans. He also earned a licentiate and doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.