- Francis Mugavero
Francis John Mugavero was the Roman Catholic Bishop (later Bishop Emeritus) of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn . Currently, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn is one of the largest dioceses, practiced by over 1,556,575 Catholics.He was born on
June 8 1914 inBrooklyn , and ordained as a parish priest onMay 18 1940 , at the age of 25. His consecrators wereLuigi Cardinal Raimondi (Principal Consecrator),Terence Cardinal Cooke and BishopJohn Joseph Boardman .As Bishop
On
July 15 1968 , aged 54, he was appointed as the 5th (and first Italian-American) Bishop of Brooklyn and ordained two months later.Bishop Mugavero was the first native of Brooklyn to lead the diocese, which covers over 1,000,000 Roman Catholics in Brooklyn and Queens. The diocese is independent of the Archdiocese of New York, which encompasses the three other boroughs, Westchester and six other counties north of the city. Bishop Mugavero issued more than 20 pastoral letters strongly condemning abortion. He tended, however, to avoid public criticism of Catholic politicians who supported a right to abortion. He chose to meet such officeholders privately instead.
On
February 20 1990 , aged 75, he retired as Bishop of Brooklyn.Death
He was a priest for 51 years and a bishop for almost 23 years by the time of his death from a heart attack, aged 77, on
July 12 1991 , while vacationing inEast Hampton, New York . He died holding the title of Bishop Emeritus.Legacy
* Bishop Francis J. Mugavero Center For Geriatric Care,
Brooklyn, New York Links
* [http://dioceseofbrooklyn.org/bishop/bis_aux.html Diocese of Brooklyn website]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE2DF153CF930A25754C0A967958260 NY Times obituary]
* [http://www.ewtn.com/library/indexes/NEWAGE.htm EWTN]
* [http://www.integrityusa.org/voice/1976/March1976.htm Integrity USA.org]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmugavero.html Catholic Hierarchy website/Mugavero ordination information]
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