Bishop Joseph Strickland attended Holy Trinity Seminary and the University of Dallas and earned his bachelor of philosophy degree in May 1981. He received his master of divinity degree in May 1985 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas on June 1, 1985. Upon the elevation of the Diocese of Tyler in February 1987, he became a member of its newly formed presbyterate. He received his licentiate in canon law in May of 1994 and was named rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, Texas, a month later. He was ordained as the fourth bishop of Tyler on November 28, 2012.