Gary W. Janak

Gary Wayne Janak (born March 22, 1962) is an American Catholic prelate serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas since 2021.

Biography Early life Gary Wayne Janak was born on March 22, 1962, in El Campo, Texas to Josephat “Joe” and Rose Marie Janak. He spent the first six years of his childhood in Eagle Lake, Texas, before the family moved to Palacios, Texas. He graduated in 1980 from Palacios High School. After finishing high school, Janak spent one year at Wharton County Junior College in Wharton, Texas. He then transferred in 1982 to the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas, for his sophomore year.

In 1982, Janak decided to leave the University of Texas to study for the priesthood. He entered Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1982, graduating in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He continued his studies at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, in 1984. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Janak as parochial vicar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victory Parish. He was transferred in 1990 to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Victor to serve as a priest-in-residence. He was named pastor of St. Joseph Church in Yoakum, Texas, in 1994. During his time at St. Joseph Janak also received a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1995 and a Master of Arts degree in counseling from the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria.