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Hilario González García

Bishop of Saltillo

Bishop

1965

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Ordained

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Consecrated Bishop

Saltillo

Diocese

Mexico

Country

The Life

Hilario González García was born on 19 June 1965 in Monterrey. He was ordained a priest on 15 August 1995, incardinated for the metropolitan archdiocese of Monterrey, and took the licentiate in theology at the Pontifical University of Mexico. As a priest he served as spiritual director, prefect of studies of philosophy, vice rector, and rector of the Monterrey seminary; in the diocesan Curia as promoter of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue; and as executive secretary of the Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue of the Episcopal Conference of Mexico. The seminary where he himself was formed is not named in the Holy See bulletin, and neither the place of his priestly ordination nor his ordaining bishop is stated there. He was never an auxiliary bishop of Monterrey: the bulletin curriculum moves straight from priest of Monterrey to bishop of Linares.

He was appointed Bishop of Linares on 19 November 2014 and received episcopal ordination on 22 January 2015; his consecrators are not established in the opened sources, and a Linares possession ceremony distinct from the consecration is not separately established, so the Linares tenure rests on the consecration. Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of Saltillo on 21 November 2020, accepting the resignation of José Raúl Vera López, O.P. He took possession in Saltillo on 29 January 2021. That date rests on the roster's cited reports, Pastoral Siglo 21 and El Heraldo de Saltillo; the El Heraldo article itself was not opened (its category listing confirms the headline, author Omar Soto, and date of 29 January 2021), and nothing in the opened sources contradicts the date.

He is listed among the Members of the Dicastery for the Clergy appointed by the Holy Father; the Dicastery page itself carries no date, and the membership is dated only to 2025 from the page path and contemporary reporting. In late November 2023 he signed a statement on the desecration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel of Our Lady of Schoenstatt Parish, Saltillo (see Works). In July 2026, after the Holy See's 2 July 2026 declaration of the excommunication of four bishops ordained by the Society of St. Pius X without authorization and of schism, he told El Heraldo de Saltillo that faithful in his diocese who attend both Society celebrations and Catholic temples must choose one community of faith, noting the Society-administered Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Saltillo (see Quotes and the sspx_2026 record). Acts of his predecessor, José Raúl Vera López, are background only and are never coded as his.

Major Works & Initiatives

Signed statement on the desecration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel, Our Lady of Schoenstatt Parish, Saltillo, late November 2023

After thieves broke into the chapel on the morning of 25 November 2023 and stole the ciborium with the Blessed Sacrament, González signed a statement declaring the act a violation of the sacred place and sacrilege against the Eucharistic species, announcing the automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication of the perpetrator or perpetrators if Catholic, and suspending Mass in the chapel until reparation. Cited via the CNA-derived report of 4 December 2023; the original Spanish statement was not opened, and its title and exact date were not recovered, so no words from it are quoted.

In His Own Words

Mexico is the country where good priests are happy giving their lives for Christ and for his Church ... You shouldn't be afraid of giving your life for Christ nor be afraid of offering it in priestly service

Interview in Rome during the Jubilee of Seminarians, Bishops, and Priests, 23-27 June 2025, published in English by Catholic World Report, 1 July 2025. Two fragments, 37 words in total (18 + 19), on priestly vocations amid violence against priests in Mexico.

Hay que definirse, con esta desobediencia explícita, ya los que acostumbraban ir o venir entre una y otra, ya tienen que definirse; ello deben tomar la decisión de definirse si se mantienen en comunión con la Iglesia Católica o ya se vuelven parte de esa secta

Statement to El Heraldo de Saltillo, reported by Omar Soto, 6 July 2026, after the Holy See's 2 July 2026 declaration on the Society of St. Pius X. 46 words, as reported. The article's further remarks on the history of the Society are not quoted.

The Old Mass, See by See

Saltillo2021-01-29 – presentNo act of his own

What he inheritedNo provision for the 1962 Missal of his own is established in the record. His July 2026 statement on the Society of St. Pius X concerns communion with the Society after the Holy See's 2 July 2026 declaration; it is recorded in sspx_2026 and is not a regulation of the 1962 Missal in Saltillo. Acts of his predecessor, José Raúl Vera López, are background only.

Since the SSPX decree of 2 July 2026: Following the Holy See's 2 July 2026 declaration of the excommunication of four bishops ordained by the Society of St. Pius X without authorization and of schism, he said that faithful in Saltillo who attend both Society celebrations and Catholic temples must choose one community of faith, noting the Society-administered Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Saltillo. ↗

Reviewed 2026-10-28Confidence: medium

Linares2015-01-22 – 2021-01-29

Held before Traditionis Custodes; no record on the old Mass falls in this tenure.

Domus Dei’s Verdict

The Bishop & the Mass of Ages

No governing act of his own found

References & Further Reading

Resignations and Appointments, 21 November 2020 — Holy See Press Office · 2020English bulletin 201121a. Accepts the resignation of Jose Raul Vera Lopez, O.P., and appoints Bishop Hilario Gonzalez Garcia of Linares as bishop of Saltillo, 21 November 2020. CV: born 19 June 1965 in Monterrey; priest 15 August 1995, incardinated Monterrey; licentiate in theology at the Pontifical University of Mexico; offices summary including spiritual director, prefect of studies of philosophy, vice rector and rector of the Monterrey seminary, Curia promoter of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, executive secretary of the CEM Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue; 'On 19 November 2014 he was appointed as bishop of Linares and received episcopal ordination on 22 January 2015.' Seminary of formation not named; place of priestly ordination, ordaining bishop, and Linares consecrators not stated.

Mexican bishop: despite danger, it's worth the risk to become a priest — Catholic World Report (CNA/ACI Prensa) · 20251 July 2025. Interview in Rome during the Jubilee of Seminarians, Bishops, and Priests, 23-27 June 2025. Context notes his 60th birthday, 30th priestly anniversary, and 10th episcopal anniversary, consistent with the bulletin dates. Two quoted fragments, 37 words in total (18 + 19), counted by Mike from the opened page. Other interview remarks (celibacy, abuse, individualism) are not quoted.

Mexican bishop: thief who stole Eucharist is excommunicated — FullyCatholic (CNA republication) · 20234 December 2023, CNA-derived report. After thieves broke into the Sacred Heart of Jesus chapel (Our Lady of Schoenstatt Parish, Saltillo) on the morning of 25 November 2023 and stole the ciborium with the Blessed Sacrament, the article reports the statement signed by Gonzalez: violation of the sacred place and sacrilege against the Eucharistic species, automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication of the perpetrator or perpetrators if Catholic, invitation to acts of reparation, Mass suspended in the chapel until reparation. The diocesan communications office's 'vandalism and theft' clarification is an office statement, not his. The original Spanish statement was not opened; its title and exact date were not recovered, so no words from it are quoted.

Nomine membri e consultori — Dicastery for the Clergy · 2025Members list naming 'Mons. Hilario Gonzalez Garcia, Bishop of Saltillo (Mexico)' among the Members of the Dicastery for the Clergy appointed by the Holy Father. The page itself carries no date; the membership is dated only to 2025 from the /2025/ page path and contemporary reporting, and no day is coded.

Deberán simpatizantes de Fraternidad Pío X de Saltillo decidir entre esta secta o el catolicismo: obispo Hilario — Omar Soto · El Heraldo de Saltillo · 20266 July 2026. After the Holy See's 2 July 2026 declaration of the excommunication of four bishops ordained by the Society of St. Pius X without authorization and of schism, Gonzalez said that faithful who attend both Society celebrations and Catholic temples must choose one community of faith, noting the Society-administered Chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bravo 564, Zona Centro, Saltillo. One quoted fragment, 46 words, counted by Mike from the opened page. This statement concerns communion with the Society after the schism declaration; it is recorded in sspx_2026 and is not a regulation of the 1962 Missal in Saltillo, so the posture stays no_record.

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