Laredo waited until the year 2000 to get its own Catholic diocese, and the man picked to lead it already knew the town. James Anthony Tamayo, born in Brownsville on October 23, 1949, became the first Bishop of Laredo and held the post for more than 25 years.
Who he is and why Texas cares
Tamayo is a Texas-born Catholic bishop who spent his whole career in the state. He was born in Brownsville, the son of Antonio P. and Guadalupe B. Tamayo, and he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Then he went on to help lead the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, and finally the border diocese of Laredo, where he was the first to hold the title. For a diocese with no history of its own, that's a big job. Somebody has to decide what the first of everything looks like.
From Brownsville to the bishop's chair
He studied theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and at St. Mary's Seminary there. The Diocese of Laredo lists a bachelor's degree in theology earned magna cum laude and a master's in theology. On June 11, 1976, Bishop Thomas J. Drury ordained him a priest at Corpus Christi Cathedral.
His early years as a priest were spent in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, where he was an associate pastor at St. Patrick Parish and served as assistant chancellor. From 1990 to 1993 he was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Laredo. Keep that in mind, because it matters later.
Pope John Paul II named him auxiliary bishop of Galveston-Houston on January 26, 1993. He was consecrated on March 10, 1993, at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, with Bishop Joseph Fiorenza as the principal consecrator. His title was titular bishop of Ita, a ceremonial title for a see that no longer functions as a diocese. In Houston he served as vicar general and as episcopal vicar for Hispanic ministry. He also chaired the national bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs.
His motto, "Todo con amor," means "All with love."
The first bishop of Laredo
On July 3, 2000, John Paul II founded the Diocese of Laredo. The same day, he named Tamayo its first bishop. Tamayo was installed on August 9, 2000.
What strikes me is how neat the fit was. A man who had once been the pastor of a Laredo parish came back to run the whole diocese. It covers seven counties along and near the border: Dimmit, Jim Hogg, La Salle, Maverick, Webb, Zapata and Zavala. The diocese reports 344,711 members as of July 2017, spread over dozens of parishes and missions.
His other roles reached beyond the pulpit. He served as the Texas State Council chaplain of the Knights of Columbus, and he was a chaplain with the rank of major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, with an honorable discharge in 1996.
Pope Leo XIV accepted Tamayo's resignation on May 1, 2026, after he reached the retirement age of 75.
More than twenty-five years is a long time to run any institution, and longer still for one that started from nothing. I'd argue the real measure of a first bishop is whether the diocese feels like it was always there. By that test, Laredo got a steady start.
Photo: GatewayStar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
If you grew up in the Laredo diocese, what do you remember about its early years, and what do you think a first bishop gets to shape that his successors don't?
Photo: GatewayStar, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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