Joseph Lawson Howze
His Excellency, The Most Reverend Joseph Lawson E. Howze | |
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Bishop emeritus of Biloxi | |
Archdiocese | Mobile |
Diocese | Biloxi |
Appointed | March 8, 1977 |
Installed | June 6, 1977 |
Term ended | May 15, 2001 |
Predecessor | First Bishop |
Successor | Thomas John Rodi |
Previous post(s) | Auxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson |
Orders | |
Ordination | May 7, 1959 by Vincent Stanislaus Waters |
Consecration | January 28, 1973 by Luigi Raimondi, Harold Robert Perry, and Joseph Bernard Brunini |
Personal details | |
Born | (1923-08-30)August 30, 1923 Daphne, Alabama, U.S. |
Died | January 9, 2019(2019-01-09) (aged 95) Ocean Springs, Mississippi, U.S. |
Motto | Unity of God’s people |
Styles of Joseph Lawson E. Howze | |
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Reference style |
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Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Religious style | Bishop |
Joseph Lawson Edward Howze (born Lawson Edward Howze, August 30, 1923 – January 9, 2019) was an American Catholic who served as the first Bishop of Biloxi from 1977 to 2001. He was the first openly Black Catholic ordinary of an Catholic diocese.
Early life
Howze was born in Daphne, Alabama. He was the oldest of four children born to Albert Otis Howze Sr. and Helen Lawson Howze. His mother died when he was five. He had six siblings in total. He grew up with neighbors who were Catholic and attributed his Catholicism to that influence. He attended kindergarten at Most Pure Heart of Mary School in Mobile. He was later transferred to the segregated public schools of Mobile, graduating from Mobile County Secondary School in 1944. Howze originally aspired to become a doctor and studied chemistry, biology, and physics. He graduated from Alabama State Branch Junior College in 1946. In 1948 he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Alabama State University.
Howze converted to Catholicism in 1948, taking the name baptismal name of Joseph.[1] He later entered the seminary for the Josephites, studying at Epiphany Apostolic College in upstate New York.[2] He then taught science in the public school system and was later hired to teach at St. Monica School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1952.
Catholic priesthood
After expressing a renewed interest in the priesthood, Howze was accepted to study for the priesthood at Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure University in New York (receiving his Doctor of Divinity in 1959), and was ordained for the Diocese of Raleigh on May 7, 1959.[3] He then served as a pastor in Asheville.
On November 8, 1972, Howze was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson, Mississippi, and Titular Bishop of Maxita by Pope Paul VI. He was consecrated to the episcopate on January 28, 1973, by Archbishop Luigi Raimondi, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, with Bishops Harold Robert Perry, S.V.D., and Joseph Bernard Brunini serving as co-consecrators.
When the Diocese of Biloxi was created in 1977, Howze was appointed its first bishop. He was the first openly Black bishop to head a diocese in the United States.
He retired June 6, 2001, and died January 9, 2019, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, at the age of 95.[4]
See also
References
- ^ "Past Bishops". Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "Bishop Howze dies at 95; first priest of the Diocese of Charlotte to become a bishop". catholicnewsherald.com. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
- ^ "Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ Joseph Lawson Howze's obituary
External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi Official Site
- Oral history with Most Reverend Joseph Lawson E. Howze, University of Southern Mississippi. Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage.
- National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus bio of Joseph Lawson Howze
Episcopal succession
Catholic Church titles | ||
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Preceded by First Bishop | Bishop of Biloxi 1977–2001 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by - | Auxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson 1973–1977 | Succeeded by - |
- v
- t
- e
- Bishops
- Joseph Lawson Howze
- Thomas John Rodi
- Roger Morin
- Louis Frederick Kihneman
- Cathedral
- Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Biloxi
- High schools
- Our Lady Academy, Bay St. Louis
- Resurrection High School, Pascagoula
- Sacred Heart Catholic School, Hattiesburg
- St. Patrick Catholic High School, Biloxi
- Saint Stanislaus College, Bay St. Louis
- Closed schools
- Mercy Cross High School, Biloxi*
- St. John High School, Gulfport*
* Closed in 2007 and replaced by St. Patrick Catholic High School
Mississippi portal
Catholicism portal