Daniel E. Flores

Daniel Ernesto Flores (born August 28, 1961) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as bishop of Brownsville in Texas since 2009 and as Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops since 2025. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan from 2006 to 2009.

Biography

Early life and education Daniel Flores was born on August 28, 1961, in Palacios, Texas, to Fernando and Lydia Flores. His parents came from Zapata, Texas, with roots on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Daniel Flores has one sister, Teresa, and two brothers, Billie and Javier.

Shortly after Flores' birth, his family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. He graduated from Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi in 1979, and then studied at the University of Texas at Austin for two years. After deciding to enter the priesthood, Flores entered Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas in 1981.

After his 1988 ordination, the diocese assigned Flores as parochial vicar at Corpus Christi Cathedral Parish. Between 1992 and 1997, he also served as the private secretary and master of ceremonies to Gracida, vice-chancellor of the diocese, rector of the St. John Vianney House of Studies, and episcopal vicar for vocations. The Vatican raised Flores to chaplain to his holiness in September 1995. He received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit on November 29, 2006, from Cardinal Adam Maida, with Bishops Edmond Carmody and René Gracida serving as co-consecrators. His episcopal motto, taken from the Summa Theologica, is: ("The Word Is Sent Breathing Forth Love"). Flores became the first Hispanic bishop in Detroit.

Bishop of Brownsville On December 9, 2009, Benedict XVI appointed Flores as bishop of Brownsville, succeeding Bishop Raymundo Peña, and was installed on February 2, 2010.

On October 23, 2024, the Synod of Bishops elected Flores a member of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod.

Viewpoints

Immigration On June 12, 2019, Flores addressed the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) regarding the policies of the Trump Administration towards undocumented immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. “I feel that as a (bishops’) conference, we must express ourselves more strongly when it comes to the dignity of immigrants, to say that they are not criminals, that they are vulnerable families and we need to invite all the governments involved, not just the U.S., to defend the migrant as a human being, to not cast the person aside as someone who doesn’t matter and is a problem,”