Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville
Diocese of Brownsville Dioecesis Brownsvillensis Diócesis de Brownsville | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Area | 4,226 sq mi (10,950 km2) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2020) 1,377,861 1,171,182 (85.0%) |
Parishes | 72 |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | July 10, 1965 |
Cathedral | Immaculate Conception Cathedral |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Daniel E. Flores |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Daniel DiNardo |
Auxiliary Bishops | Mario Alberto Avilés |
Map | |
Website | |
cdob.org |
The Diocese of Brownsville (
The Diocese of Brownsville is a
History
1690 to 1965
The first Catholic mission in Texas, then part of the Spanish Empire, was San Francisco de los Tejas. It was founded by Franciscan Father Damián Massanet in 1690 in the Weches area. The priests left the mission after three years, then established a second mission, Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas, near present-day Alto in 1716.[1]
In 1839, after the 1836 founding of the
In 1874, Pope Pius IX established the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville out of the Diocese of Galveston. The new vicariate included all the settlements south of the
1965 to 1980
Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Brownsville in 1965, taking its territory from the Diocese of Corpus Christi. That same year, The pope appointed Reverend Adolph Marx of the Diocese of Corpus Christi as the first bishop of Brownsville. Marx died a few months later that year; Paul VI then named Reverend Humberto Medeiros of the Diocese of Fall River as his replacement.
Medeiros' appointment came at the time of a threatened farm workers' strike.[3] Many of his parishioners were Mexican-American migrant workers. Medeiros was an advocate on behalf of workers, supporting their demands for a minimum wage at $1.25 an hour.[3]
During his tenure, Medeiros sold the episcopal limousine, converted all but one room of the episcopal residence into a
1980 to 1995
In 1982, Fitzpatrick opened Casa Oscar Romero in Brownsville, named after the murdered Salvadorian archbishop,
Auxiliary Bishop
1995 to present
In 1995, John Paul II appointed Bishop
Auxiliary Bishop Daniel E. Flores from the Archdiocese of Detroit was named bishop of Brownsville by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
In November 2018, the diocese sued the Trump Administration, saying that the routing of its
As of 2023, Flores is the current bishop of Brownsville.
Sex abuse
In 2004, the Dallas Morning News published a report on sexual abuse accusations against Reverend Basil Onyia, a Nigerian priest. Onyia arrived in Brownsville in 1999 and was assigned as assistant pastor of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle. By early 2000, the diocese was receiving complaints from staff and parishioners about inappropriate behavior by Onyia towards women and girls.[10]
In April 2000, after a woman filed a police complaint, Peña transferred Onyia to a parish in Harlingen. Later in 2000, two priests complained from Harlingen complained to Peña about Onyia. In January 2001, Peña asked Onyia's bishop in Nigeria to recall him. In February 2001, the relatives of a developmentally disabled girl accused Onyia of rape. Peña ordered Onyia to a third parish, but, fearing arrest, Onyia fled to Nigeria.[10] The Vatican laicized him in 2016.[11]
Deacon Ronaldo Chavez, a school principal, was arrested in January 2014 on charges of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy multiple times in 2013.[12] Chavez later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison.[11] The victim sued the diocese in June 2014, claiming that the diocese failed to supervise Chavez.[13]
The diocese was sued by two siblings in March 2019 who claimed they were sexually abused as young children by Reverend Benedicto Ortiz from 1982 to 1985. Ortiz had persuaded their mother to let the children live with him during the work week; he slept with the children, whom he forced to perform oral sex. Bishop Fitzgerald knew that the children were living with Ortiz; he finally ordered Ortiz to send the children home, but Ortiz was still able to take them to South Padre Island for outings.[14] In 2021, the court severed the lawsuit into individual lawsuits for each victim and the diocese settled one of the lawsuits.[13]
Statistics
As of 2020, the Diocese of Brownsville served 1,171,182 Catholics (85.0% of 1,377,861 total) on 111,125 km2 in 72 parishes, 44 missions, 108 priests (85 diocesan, 23 religious), 103 deacons, 72 lay religious (12 brothers, 60 nuns), and 12 seminarians.
The diocese has the second highest percentage of Catholics to total diocese population in the United States, second only to the Diocese of Laredo. As of 2020, the Diocese of Brownsville comprised 1,171,182 Catholics out of a total population of 1,377,861, or 85.0%.[15]
Bishops
Bishops of Brownsville
- Adolph Marx (1965)[16]
- Archbishop of Boston (cardinalin 1973)
- John Joseph Fitzpatrick (1971-1991)
- Enrique San Pedro (1991-1994; coadjutor archbishop 1991)
- Raymundo Joseph Peña (1994-2009)
- Daniel E. Flores (2010–present)
Auxiliary bishop
Mario Alberto Avilés (2018–present)
Other diocesan priest who became bishop
Joseph Patrick Delaney, appointed Bishop of Fort Worth in 1981
Education
Universities
Catholic Campus Ministry, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
High schools
- Juan Diego Academy – Mission
- Saint Joseph Academy – Brownsville
Middle and elementary schools
- Guadalupe Regional Middle School – Brownsville
- Immaculate Conception School – Rio Grande City
- Incarnate Word School – Brownsville
- Oratory Academy – Pharr
- Our Lady of Guadalupe School – Mission
- Our Lady of Sorrows School – McAllen
- St. Anthony's School – Harlingen
- St. Joseph's School – Edinburg
- St. Martin de Porras School – Weslaco
- St. Mary's School – Brownsville
Closed schools
St. Luke's School – Brownsville, closed 2020
Public broadcasting
The diocese's radio and television stations are operated under the license name of RGV Educational Broadcasting, Inc.[17]
- NPR-member stations
See also
References
- ^ Texas Almanac-Diocese of Tyler
- ^ "La Lomita Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Change of the Guard". Time. 1970-11-21. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010.
- ^ "Cardinal Medeiros of Boston Dies After Coronary Bypass Operation", The New York Times, September 18, 1983.
- ^ a b c Staff, T. B. B. (2018-11-15). "ANECDOTE: "I feed them, and I clothe them and give them temporary help... I think that's American." – Bishop John J. Fitzpatrick". Texas Border Business. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
- ^ "Longtime Brownsville bishop dies at 87". Plainview Herald. 2006-07-16. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
- ^ admin (2003-08-15). "UFW and Brownsville diocese settle dispute over fired south Texas parish workers". UFW. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ "Butterfly Center, Chapel Spared in Bill Funding New Border Barrier in Rio Grande Valley". Rivard Report. February 14, 2019.
- ^ "CONFERENCE REPORT [To accompany H.J. Res. 31]" (PDF). U.S. House of Representatives.
- ^ a b "The Case of Father Basil Onyia, Dallas Morning News, December 6, 2004". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ a b "Clergy Disclosure List". Diocese of Brownsville. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "Police: Catholic deacon, principal accused of sexually assaulting altar boy". KVEO-TV. 2014-01-19. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ a b "Sexual abuse lawsuit filed against Diocese of Brownsville". KVEO-TV. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ "Trial date set for Brownsville Catholic diocese sexual assault case". KVEO-TV. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ "Diocese of Brownsville History". Diocese of Brownsville. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
- ^ "Brownsville (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]".
- ^ About Us