Jose Horacio Gomez

Gómez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, to José H. Gómez and Esperanza Velasco. One of five children, he has three older sisters and one younger sister. He attended the Monterrey Institute of Technology before entering the National University of Mexico where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1975. While attending college, he joined Opus Dei, a Catholic organization founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá which teaches people to seek holiness in their ordinary activities.

From 1975 to 1980, Gómez studied at the University of Navarre, in Spain, earning his bachelor's degree and a licenciate in theology.

On August 15, 1978, Gómez was ordained a priest of Opus Dei by Cardinal Franz König at the Shrine of Torreciudad in Spain. In 1980, he obtained a Doctor of Sacred Theology from the main campus of the University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain. He then pursued pastoral work with college and high school students in Spain and Mexico. From 1987 to 1999, Gómez was in residence at Our Lady of Grace Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he assisted in the pastoral work of the parish. During this period, he also helped in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in Katy, Texas. He became a U.S. citizen in 1995.

In 1991, Gómez became a regional representative of the National Association of Hispanic Priests. He became its president in 1995 and served as executive director from 1999 to 2001. In 2003, he earned the annual National Association of Hispanic Priests Award, "El Buen Pastor". From 1997 to 1998, he served as a member-at-large on the Board of Directors for the National Catholic Council of Hispanic Ministry, and was elected its treasurer in 1999. From 1998 to 2000, he was on the steering committee for Encuentro 2000, a national celebration of the Jubilee Year 2000. Along with Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, he played a key role in the establishment of the Hispanic Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, which opened in August 2000. He also spearheaded the establishment of Centro San Juan Diego for Family and Pastoral Care, a place for formation of lay leaders and a base to provide welcoming services to immigrants, in Denver, Colorado. In 1999, he became the vicar of Opus Dei for Texas.

On January 23, 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Gómez auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Denver and titular bishop of Belali. He received his episcopal consecration on March 26 from Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., with Bishops Joseph Fiorenza and Javier Echevarría Rodríguez as co-consecrators. He chose as his episcopal motto "Adeamus cum fiducia ad thronum gratiae", meaning "Let us confidently approach the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16). He was the first numerary member of Opus Dei to be consecrated a bishop in the United States. As a bishop, he is no longer a member of that organization since he reports to the pope and thus does not answer to the prelate in charge of Opus Dei. Gomez has said he is not a "member" of Opus Dei, but rather that he was ordained a priest in Opus Dei and that his spirituality reflects that background.

Gómez was appointed Archbishop of San Antonio on December 29, 2004. In 2005 he was named one of Time's 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States, and in 2007 he was on CNN's list of "Notable Hispanics" in a web special celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. In 2006, Archbishop Gomez officially introduced The Catholic Community Foundation for the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. In 2007, he was instrumental in bringing together Hispanic leaders and Catholic bishops for the creation of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL).

On April 6, 2010, Gómez was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Benedict XVI. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest Catholic diocese in the nation, with Hispanics comprising more than two-thirds of the archdiocese's five million Catholics. Gómez succeeded Cardinal Mahony on March 1, 2011, with a transition ceremony held on February 27, 2011. He is the first Hispanic to serve as Archbishop of Los Angeles, as well as the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the United States. He said: "I'm very grateful to the Holy Father for giving me this opportunity to serve the Church with a mentor and leader like Cardinal Roger Mahony. I'm grateful to the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, for supporting the Holy Father's confidence in me. I will try with all my strength to earn that trust."

On September 18, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Gómez one of the Synod Fathers for the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization in October 2012.

On November 24, 2012 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

On January 31, 2013, Gomez stated that Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop Emeritus, would "no longer have any administrative or public duties" for the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The announcement came as Gomez unveiled its files related to clergy sexual abuse. He said: "I find these files to be brutal and painful reading. The behavior described in these files is terribly sad and evil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children. The priests involved had the duty to be their spiritual fathers and they failed. We need to acknowledge that terrible failure today."

The archbishop has long been an outspoken defender of immigrants, including the undocumented. In 2013, he published Immigration and the Next America, connecting the rights of immigrants to the highest principles of the American tradition.

On November 15, 2016, he was elected vice-president of the USCCB, and on November 12, 2019, he was elected President of the USCCB. He is the first Latino bishop to ever occupy the post.

In 2020, Archbishop Gómez issued a statement on behalf of the United States Bishops' Conference in which he condemned the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis as "senseless and brutal". He said that the protests against his death reflected "the justified frustration and anger of millions", taking the opportunity to condemn the "humiliation, indignity, and unequal opportunity" based on race. The archbishop called for greater tolerance and to ensure that racism is removed from all aspects of the community to foster greater harmony.