Vásquez was most recently selected by Francis to oversee the Diocese of Tyler, also in Texas, after he dismissed its former bishop, Joseph Strickland, who had openly accused the pope of being a heretic and called into question the validity of his leadership.

Pope Francis called President-elect Donald Trump's plans for the deportation of illegal immigrants a "disgrace."

The pope has made welcoming migrants a key theme of his nearly 12-year papacy, and he has previously criticized Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. During the 2016 election, he said Trump was "not Christian" in his view.