Joseph Lawson Howze


Joseph Lawson E. Howze
Bishop of Biloxi
Titular Bishop of Maxita
ArchdioceseMobile
DioceseBiloxi
AppointedMarch 8, 1977
InstalledJune 6, 1977
Term endedMay 15, 2001
PredecessorFirst Bishop
SuccessorThomas John Rodi
Previous postAuxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson (1972 to 1977)
Orders
OrdinationMay 7, 1959
by Vincent Stanislaus Waters
ConsecrationJanuary 28, 1973
by Luigi Raimondi, Harold Robert Perry, and Joseph Bernard Brunini
Personal details
Born(1923-08-30)August 30, 1923
DiedJanuary 9, 2019(2019-01-09) (aged 95)
MottoUnity of God’s people
Styles of
Joseph Lawson E. Howze
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Joseph Lawson Edward Howze (born Lawson Edward Howze; August 30, 1923 – January 9, 2019) was an American Catholic prelate who served as the first bishop of Biloxi in Mississippi from 1977 to 2001. He was the first openly Black Catholic ordinary of a U.S. Catholic diocese. Howze previously served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson in Mississippi from 1972 to 1977