Michael Duca


Michael Gerard Duca is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who serves as bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana since his installation on August 24, 2018.

Biography

Duca attended elementary and secondary school in Dallas and graduated from Bishop Lynch High School in 1970. He attended Holy Trinity Seminary from 1970 to 1978, and while there received a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master of divinity degree in theology from the adjacent University of Dallas.
Duca was ordained a priest on 29 April 1978 in Dallas, Texas. He was educated in the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas training as a canonist.
He served the Diocese of Dallas as a vocations director, chaplain at Dallas' Southern Methodist University both from 1985 to 1992. Before his appointment as bishop, he was the rector of Dallas' Holy Trinity Seminary.

Bishop of Shreveport

He was appointed as Bishop of Shreveport by Pope Benedict XVI on 1 April 2008 and raised to the episcopate on 19 May. He was consecrated bishop of the Shreveport diocese at the Shreveport Convention Center, with approximately 3,000 people in attendance.
Duca was one of the regular panelists on the American Religious Townhall. Diocese of Shreveport celebrated its 25th anniversary on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Shreveport Convention Center.

Bishop of Baton Rouge

Duca was appointed by Pope Francis as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, succeeding Bishop Robert William Muench, who retired. He was installed as Baton Rouge's bishop on August 24, 2018.

Episcopal succession