{{short description|Catholic bishop}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Bishop | honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = Michael Gerard Duca | honorific-suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | title = Bishop of Baton Rouge | image = Bishop Duca.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | church = Catholic | archdiocese = | province = | metropolis = | diocese = Baton Rouge | see = | elected = | appointed = June 26, 2018 | enthroned = August 24, 2018 | retired = | predecessor = Robert William Muench | opposed = | successor = | other_post = | previous_post = Bishop of Shreveport (2008-2018) <!---------- Orders ---------->| ordination = April 29, 1978 | ordained_by = Thomas Ambrose Tschoepe | consecration = May 19, 2008 | consecrated_by = Alfred Clifton Hughes, Michael Sheehan, and Kevin Farrell | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|6|5}}<!-- {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | birth_place = Dallas, Texas, US | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | buried = | nationality = | religion = | occupation = | profession = | education = Holy Trinity Seminary<br>Southern Methodist University<br>Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas | alma_mater = | motto = ''Spera in Domino''<br>(Hope in the Lord) | coat_of_arms = }}
{{Infobox bishopstyles | name= Michael Gerard Duca | dipstyle= *His Excellency *The Most Reverend | offstyle=Your Excellency | relstyle=Bishop | image = Coat of arms of Michael Gerard Duca (Baton Rouge).svg | image_size = 200px }}
'''Michael Gerard Duca''' (born June 5, 1952) is an American Catholic prelate who serves as bishop of the Baton Rouge in Louisiana. He previously served as the bishop of the Shreveport in Louisiana from 2008 to 2018.
==Biography==
=== Early life === Michael Duca was born on June 5, 1952, in Dallas, Texas. He attended Saint Thomas Aquinas School in Dallas for primary and secondary education, and graduated from Bishop Lynch High School in 1970.<ref name="VatBio">{{cite web |title=RINUNCE E NOMINE, 01.04.2008 |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2008/04/01/0218/00503.html |website=Vatican Press Office |access-date=27 April 2026}}</ref> Duca attended Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, from 1970 to 1978.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Most Rev. Michael G. Duca, Bishop of Baton Rouge |url=https://diobr.org/most-rev-michael-g-duca |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Diocese of Baton Rouge |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Most Reverend Robert Muench from the Diocese of Baton Rouge; Appoints Most Reverend Michael Duca of Shreveport as Bishop of that Same See |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2018/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-most-reverend-robert-muench-diocese-baton-rouge-appoints |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=US Conference of Catholic Bishops |language=en}}</ref>
=== Priesthood === Duca was ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas Tschoepe for the Diocese of Dallas at St. Thomas Aquinas Church on April 29, 1978.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Michael Gerard Duca [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bducam.html |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref><ref name="VatBio"/> After his 1978 ordination, the diocese assigned Duca as parochial vicar at the following parishes:<ref name="Shreveport"/><ref name="VatBio"/>
* All Saints in Dallas (1978-1981) * St. Patrick in Dallas (1981-1984) * St. Luke in Irving (1984-1985)<ref name=":0" />
In 1985, Duca was appointed as diocesan vocations director and as chaplain at Southern Methodist University.<ref name=":0" /> In 1994, Duca traveled to Rome to study at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, receiving a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1996.<ref name=":0" /> After returning to Texas in 1996, Duca was named rector of Holy Trinity Seminary, a position he would hold until 2008.
===Bishop of Shreveport=== thumb|Coat of arms as bishop of Shreveport|200px Duca was appointed as bishop of Shreveport by Pope Benedict XVI on April 1, 2008.<ref name="Shreveport">{{Cite web |last= |title=Msgr. Michael Duca appointed as bishop for Diocese of Shreveport |url=https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/msgr-michael-duca-appointed-as-bishop-for-diocese-of-shreveport |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref> He was consecrated by Archbishop Alfred Hughes on May 19, 2008, at the Shreveport Convention Center, with approximately 3,000 people in attendance. Archbishop Michael Sheehan and Bishop Kevin Farrell were the co-consecrators.<ref name=":1" /> Duca was one of the regular panelists on the ''American Religious Townhall'' television program.{{fact|date=April 2026}}
===Bishop of Baton Rouge=== Duca was appointed on June 26, 2018, by Pope Francis as the sixth bishop of Baton Rouge, succeeding Bishop Robert Muench, who retired. Duca was installed on August 24, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gallo |first=Andrea |date=2018-06-26 |title=Pope Francis appoints Bishop Michael Duca sixth leader of Baton Rouge diocese |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/pope-francis-appoints-bishop-michael-duca-sixth-leader-of-baton-rouge-diocese/article_d15b1b94-7933-11e8-b1f2-5f2efc20be9b.html |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=The Advocate |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
==See also== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Catholic Church hierarchy * Catholic Church in the United States * Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States * List of Catholic bishops of the United States * Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} {{commons category}} *[http://www.diobr.org/ Diocese of Baton Rouge Official Site]
==Episcopal succession== {{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box|title=Bishop of Baton Rouge|before=Robert William Muench|after=Incumbent|years=2018–Present}} {{succession box|title=Bishop of Shreveport|before=William Benedict Friend|after=Francis Ignatius Malone|years=2008–2018}} {{s-end}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|United States|Louisiana}} {{Diocese of Baton Rouge|state=collapsed}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport|state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duca, Michael}} Category:Living people Category:1952 births Category:People from Shreveport, Louisiana Category:Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Category:University of Dallas alumni Category:Catholics from Louisiana Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States