Lydia Garcia, sister of Bishop Daniel Garcia, lives in North Austin. She thought it was weird that her brother who lived in Monterey, California, suddenly needed to come to Texas.

“I said, ‘Why are you coming to Austin?’ And he only repeated, “I have to fly into Austin tomorrow. Can I stay at your house?”

“And then I knew!” she said.

On July 2 it was announced Pope Leo XIV had named Bishop Daniel Garcia as the new bishop of the Diocese of Austin. But no one, not even Lydia, was allowed to be told until the proper time.

Lydia didn’t ask any more questions, and they ordered pizza at her home that night so no one in the diocese would see him.

Once the announcement was made, Lydia said she was thrilled. She and her 11-year-old niece set out with the bishop for house hunting.

“My niece said, ‘Tio, I like this one!’ And my brother said, ‘Why, mija?’ And she said, ‘It has big countertops for all my baking!’” Lydia said. “She is so excited.”

As the diocese gains a spiritual father, the biological family of Bishop Garcia is getting their family member back home as well.

Bishop Garcia grew up in Waco and Cameron. He had planned to study medicine at Texas A&M and even had a girlfriend, Lydia said, when he abruptly canceled those plans. “My parents were so surprised,” she said. “Everyone knew he wanted to be a doctor!”

However, the church had played a very big role in their lives. “We did everything at church.” Lydia said, “Religious education, youth group, the Mexican cultural dances … We were always at church.”

And their grandparents, who lived next door, had invited so many priests to meals at their home that they had a wall of fame.

“They framed 8-by-10 photos of all the priests,” Lydia said. “And they put up an 8-by-10 of Daniel after his ordination. You know how priests have a lot of Masses for Christmas and Easter? No one was allowed to eat until Daniel came.”

Being 11 years younger, Lydia grew closer to her brother later in life. Bishop Daniel was serving as a priest in Austin when Lydia decided to attend St. Edward’s University.

“My mom said Daniel had to keep me in line,” Lydia said. “I did all those things you expect in college! And he would call me to take me to lunch, but I’d bring five or six friends in case he was going to yell at me.”

Taking care of family while attending to a spiritual family is something Bishop Garcia has done throughout his vocation. “After my mother died, my father had Alzheimer's," Lydia said. “Daniel wasn’t assigned to a parish anymore, so he had my dad move in, and then I moved in, too.”

“As a family, we can argue,” she said, “But if you ever need anything, we are there. You have to love.”

Bishop Garcia was named bishop of Monterey, California, in 2018, which was hard, Lydia said.

“He didn’t know anyone there. But then his staff became a family! It’s hard for him to leave now, but he’s going to make a new family here,” she said.

Lydia, and her sisters Sylvia in San Antonio and Becky in Houston, are all glad to have their brother nearby once again. With Lydia closest in proximity, she wants to spend as much time with him as she can.

“Being a bishop is really busy,” she said. “He has to be like.…” Lydia made a serious face and tensed her shoulders. “But I like to make him laugh. He likes to laugh. I’m going to help him cut up!”

She looks forward to sharing breakfast tacos from Amaya’s when he’s free, just like old times. And she looks forward to getting to know more people in the diocese with her brother.

From experience, Lydia knows having a relative among the clergy is a blessing. “You don’t lose a brother,” she said, “You gain a whole family.”