On December 29, 2004, Pope John Paul II created a second archdiocese in Texas, raising the Diocese of Galveston-Houston to the status of a Metropolitan Archdiocese. Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza was named the first Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, and Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo the Coadjutor Archbishop. Suffragan dioceses include Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Tyler, and Victoria.
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston itself is composed of ten counties in the southeastern area of Texas. It includes Harris County and the City of Houston as well as Galveston County and Galveston, the Mother Seat of the Church in Texas. The archdiocese includes eight other counties as well. They are Austin, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Grimes, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker and Waller counties. Today more than 1.5 million Catholics live within archdiocesan boundaries, making the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston the largest in the state of Texas and the eleventh largest in the United States.