On Monday, the Vatican announced that Msgr. Michael J. Boulette,
founder of an organization dedicated entirely to giving spiritual
direction and training spiritual directors, will now be an Auxiliary
Bishop for the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
Headed by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, the Archdiocese of San
Antonio hasn’t had an auxiliary bishop since 2013 when their previous
auxiliary, Oscar Cantu, was named Bishop of Las Cruces.
Bishop-elect Boulette, 66, a member of the clergy of San Antonio, is
the founder and director of the “Saint Peter upon the Water” center for
spiritual direction and formation.
He launched the center in 2004 as place offering formation programs
for priests who give spiritual direction, as well as opportunities for
individuals to receive spiritual direction themselves.
The center also
publishes texts on spiritual topics and hosts speakers for parish
retreats and missions.
Born June 4, 1950, in Hudson Falls, New York, Boulette and his family moved to Fredericksburg, Texas nine years later.
After getting his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Saint Mary
University in 1971, he went on to get his masters in the subject from
Trinity University in San Antonio a year later.
In 1972, he began his ecclesiastical studies at the University of
Notre Dame in South Bend, finishing in 1975. Boulette then pursued a
Doctorate of Ministry from the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary,
which he obtained in 1993.
The bishop-elect was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San
Antonio March 19, 1976, after which he carried out several assignments,
including parochial vicar of St. James Parish in Gonzales and St. Ann
Parish in San Antonio.
In 1983, he was named Director of Spiritual Formation at San
Antonio’s Assumption Seminary, a role he would hold for nine years,
until he re-entered parish life in 1992, serving as a parish priest
until 2004.
Boulette went on to serve as parochial administrator of Notre Dame Parish in Kerrville from 2010-2016.
Other roles he maintains include “Vicar Forane,” meaning regional
vicar, of San Antonio’s Fredericksburg Deanery since 1994; a member of
the diocese’s College of Consultors since 1997; Chairman of San
Antonio’s Council of Priests since 2009; and his role as founder and
director of the Saint Peter upon the Water center since 2004.
He was given the title “Monsignor” in 2005, and speaks Spanish in addition to his native English.
Details regarding the new bishop-elect’s ordination have yet to be announced.