Angela Maria Cortiñas ordained and consecrated West Texas’ seventh bishop suffragan

The Rt. Rev. Angela Maria Cortiñas was ordained and consecrated bishop suffragan of the Diocese of West Texas on March 15, 2025, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in McAllen. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe served as chief consecrator. Photo: Lauren Vreen

[Diocese of West Texas] The Rt. Rev. Angela Maria Cortiñas was ordained and consecrated bishop suffragan of the Diocese of West Texas on March 15 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in McAllen. Cortiñas will work alongside West Texas Bishop David G. Read. 

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was the chief consecrator. Co-consecrators were the Texas Bishop C. Andrew Doyle; former El Camino Real Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, who now serves as managing director of the College of Bishops; Texas Assistant Bishop Héctor Monterroso; Alabama Assistant Bishop Brian N. Prior; and Texas Bishop Suffragan Kathryn M. Ryan.

Fifteen bishops, including Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, attended the ordination and consecration of West Texas Bishop Suffragan Angela Maria Cortiñas on March 15, 2025. Cortiñas is standing directly left of Rowe, center, and West Texas Bishop David G. Read, far left, in the front row. Photo: Lauren Vreen

A total of 15 bishops were in attendance for the traditional laying-on of hands. Over 450 in-person attendees participated in the service, with more than 1,300 people joining the livestream concurrently from across the diocese and the country. This was the first consecration of an Episcopal bishop to be held in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. The service incorporated Spanish throughout.

In his sermon, Read reflected on living and serving in challenging times:

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is what our nation needs. We have this gift of life from God. We know and have experienced how amazing is the gift of grace,” Read said. “We know and have experienced the power of being forgiven, and the power of forgiving others. We know and have experienced the support of blessed, beloved community. We have all that we need, and today, the Holy Spirit gives to Angela all that she will need to do the ministry she has been called to do in this time.” 

Cortiñas was elected bishop suffragan for the Diocese of West Texas during a special council at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Corpus Christi Oct. 19, 2024 (https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/10/21/the-rev-angela-maria-cortinas-elected-bishop-suffragan-of-the-episcopal-diocese-of-west-texas/). She is the seventh bishop suffragan to serve West Texas. In her role, she will celebrate the sacraments of the new covenant and confirm, receive and reaffirm individuals within the 87 congregations throughout the diocese. Additionally, she will assist Read in the pastoral care of clergy, clergy families and retired clergy and their families and the development and on-boarding of new clergy, curates and seminarians. She will oversee the development of lay ministry, Christian formation and discipleship.

“My heart is full of gratitude and love at seeing all the wonderful people who have gathered both near and far to be here for this special day. I am grateful for the God who has called me and the people who have so persuaded me to take on this new ministry. I am particularly grateful for all the people who have formed me as a priest and now as a bishop of God’s church,” Cortiñas said. “I am looking forward to sharing this ministry with Bishop Read and the clergy of the Diocese of West Texas. I have felt the love and the hand of God throughout this entire process and am excited to share God’s redeeming and reconciling love with all of God’s people here in West Texas and beyond.”  

Born to Cuban immigrants, Cortiñas is a Florida-native who grew up in Miami in a large family of eight children. 

She was ordained as a deacon in the Diocese of Southeast Florida in 2009 and into the priesthood in 2010. From 2010-12, she was associate priest at All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale and then served as associate rector of St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Boca Raton from 2012-2017. She served in the Diocese of Texas as rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in College Station from 2017-2021 and as associate rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin from 2021-2024.

Cortiñas has a 23-year-old daughter, Victoria Fletcher.