Raymundo Joseph Peña (February 19, 1934 – September 24, 2021) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.Raymundo J. Peña biography
He served as the bishop of the

Diocese of Brownsville The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville ( la, Dioecesis Brownsvillensis, es, Diócesis de Brownsville) is a Latin Church suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, in Texas, USA. The ...

in Texas from 1995 to 2009, bishop of the

Diocese of El Paso The Diocese of El Paso ( la, Dioecesis Elpasensis, es, Diócesis de El Paso) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in West Texas. Covering , it encompasses the Texas counties of El Paso, Brewster, Culb ...

in Texas from 1980 to 1995 and auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of San Antonio The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States, and Sui iuris, sui juris Latin Church in full communion with the pope of Diocese of Rome, Rome. It encompasses in the U.S. state of Texa ...

in Texas from 1976 to 1980.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

on February 19, 1934, Raymundo Peña was the son of Cosme A. Peña and Elisa Ramon Peña. He attended both public and parochial schools in

Robstown, Texas Robstown is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States, and a western suburb of Corpus Christi. It was founded about 1906, and was named for Robert Driscoll. The population was 11,487 as of the 2010 census. The Texas State Legislature offici ...

, then went to St. John's Seminary and Assumption Seminary, both in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas.

Priesthood

Peña was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the

Diocese of Corpus Christi The Diocese of Corpus Christi ( la, Dioecesis Corporis Christi) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southern Texas. It was founded on March 23, 1912, having been the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville u ...

on May 25, 1957, at Corpus Christi Cathedral by Bishop Mariano Garriaga. Peña was named as diocesan youth director in 1970, holding the position until 1976. In 1969, Peña was also appointed pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Corpus Christi, serving there until 1976. He became editor of the ''Texas Gulf Coast Catholic'' paper in 1970, along with vice-president of the Senate of Priests.

Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio

On October 16, 1976,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named Peña as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Trisipa and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. He was consecrated at the Convention Center Arena in San Antonio on December 13, 1976, by Archdiocese Francis Furey. In 1977, Peña was named as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

for the archdiocese as well as executive director of the Office of the Laity. In April 1979, after the death of Archbishop Francis Furey, Peña served as administrator

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

for the archdiocese until the installation of

Patrick Flores Patricio Fernández Flores (July 26, 1929 – January 9, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served from 1979 to 2004 as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas, bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texa ...

as archbishop later in 1979.

Bishop of El Paso

On April 4, 1980,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Peña as Bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, He was installed on June 18, 1980.

Bishop of Brownsville

On May 23, 1995, John Paul II appointed Peña as Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville. He was installed on August 6, 1995. On December 6, 2004, the ''Dallas Morning News'' published a report on how Peña handled accusations of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

against a foreign priest. Basil Onyia, a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

priest, arrived in Diocese of Brownsville in 1999 and was assigned as assistant pastor of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle. In January 2009, Peña received complaints from two women in the parish that Onyia was touching them inappropriately. He told Onyia to stop it. In April 2000, after a woman filed a police complaint, Peña transferred Onyia. Later in 2000, two priests complained to Peña about Onyia's conduct. In January 2001, Peña asks Onyia's bishop in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

to recall him. In February 2001, the relatives of a

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

girl accused Onyia of rape. Peña finally suspended Onyia, who fled to Nigeria to avoid arrest.

Resignation

Peña submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville to the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...

upon reaching 75. His resignation was accepted by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

on December 9, 2009. Raymundo Peña died in

San Juan, Texas San Juan is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 35,294, up from 33,856 in 2010. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. The city is known fo ...

on September 24, 2021, at age 87.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville

Episcopal succession

1934 births 2021 deaths People from Corpus Christi, Texas 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of El Paso {{US-RC-bishop-stub