Pope Leo XIV appoints Bishop Brendan J. Cahill as new bishop of Joliet, Illinois

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Brendan J. Cahill to lead the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the appointment in Washington on Sept. 17.

Bishop Cahill has served as the bishop of Victoria, Texas, since 2015. He also serves as the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, a role he began last November following a year as chairman-elect. He succeeds Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, who was appointed archbishop of New York in December 2025. Since that time, Auxiliary Bishop Dennis E. Spies has served as the apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Joliet.

Born in Coral Gables, Florida, Bishop Cahill studied at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Xavier University in New Orleans, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a doctorate in dogmatic theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 19, 1990.