BALTIMORE - Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) during today's annual fall General Assembly in Baltimore. Cardinal DiNardo has served as vice president of the USCCB since 2013. Archbishop Jose Gomez was elected as USCCB vice president.

Cardinal DiNardo and Archbishop Gomez are elected to three-year terms and succeed Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, and Cardinal DiNardo, respectively. The new president and vice president terms begin at the conclusion of the General Assembly on November 15.

Cardinal DiNardo was elected president on the first ballot with 113 votes. Archbishop Gomez was elected vice president on the third ballot by 131-84 in a runoff vote against Archbishop  Gregory Aymond of New Orleans.

The president and vice president are elected by a simple majority from a slate of 10 nominees. If no president or vice president is chosen after the second round of voting, a third ballot is a run-off between the two bishops who received the most votes on the second ballot.

Cardinal DiNardo was born May 23, 1949, and ordained a priest of Pittsburgh on June 16, 1977. He previously served as bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, from 1998-2004 before being appointed to coadjutor bishop, then archbishop, of Galveston-Houston. Pope Benedict XVI named him a cardinal in 2007, making him the first cardinal from Texas. Archbishop Gomez was born December 26, 1951, in Monterrey, Mexico. He was ordained a priest on August 15, 1978. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Denver in 2001, and in 2004, he was appointed archbishop of San Antonio.  He was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Los Angeles in 2010, and was installed as archbishop of Los Angeles in 2011.

The bishops also chose the chairmen-elect of five committees and new members of the board of Catholic Relief Services, (CRS).  The bishops elected are:

Bishop Robert P. Deeley of Portland, Maine, chairman-elect of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance  in a 111-89 vote over Bishop David M. Malloy of Rockford, Illinois.

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pennsylvania, chairman-elect of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs in a 115-90 vote over Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland, California.

Bishop Robert E. Barron, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, chairman-elect of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis in a 122-90 vote over Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for Military Services, chairman-elect of the Committee on International Justice and Peace in a 127-88 vote over Bishop Robert W. McElroy of San Diego.

Bishop Timothy L. Doherty of Lafayette, Indiana, chairman-elect of the Committee on Protection of Children and Young People in a 128-86 vote over Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Washington.

Each bishop elected will serve for one year as secretary-elect or chairman-elect before beginning a three-year term.

Bishops elected to the CRS board were: Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, Bishop Gregory Parkes of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida; and Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In November 2015, Archbishop Gomez was elected to chair the Committee on Migration for a term beginning this week. Since his election as USCCB vice-president prevents him from assuming leadership of the committee, the bishops will elect a new chairman at a later time.