Retired Houston archbishop Fiorenza dies at 91: 'A champion of civil rights and a tireless worker'

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston announced the passing of Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Fiorenza at the age of 91 on Monday.

According to the archdiocese’s Facebook page, Fiorenza, who hailed from Beaumont, led the then-Diocese of Galveston-Houston as bishop from 1985 to 2006 and was tabbed the inaugural archbishop when the Vatican elevated Texas’ first Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction to archdiocese status.

Fiorenza’s successor, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, remembered the late prelate for his work as a social justice advocate.

“Archbishop Fiorenza was known to be a champion of civil rights and a tireless worker in overcoming the presence of racism in our community,” DiNardo said in the Facebook post. “He was also known as a great promoter of genuine renewal in the church, and in making the teachings of the Second Vatican Council known.”

DiNardo took the reins from Fiorenza upon the latter’s retirement in 2006.

Per Fiorenza’s biography on the archdiocese’s website, he was born on Jan. 25, 1931, the second eldest child of Italian immigrants Anthony and Grace Fiorenza.

A 1947 graduate of St. Anthony High School in Beaumont, he immediately answered the call to priesthood and was ordained in 1954.

Fiorenza served all over the Diocese of Galveston-Houston the next 25 years until Pope St. John Paul II appointed him bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo in the late 1970s.

He later returned to the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in 1985 to serve as bishop, and ultimately, archbishop.

The archdiocese bestowed the title of Archbishop Emeritus upon Fiorenza after his retirement.

According to the archdiocese, Fiorenza oversaw its growth toward becoming the fifth largest diocese in the U.S. with nearly two million adherents and 150 parishes.

The diocese said that his funeral arrangements are pending as of press time.