René Henry Gracida (born June 9, 1923) is an American prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who served as bishop of 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 ...

in Texas from 1983 to 1997. He previously served as bishop of the

Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

in Florida (1975–1983) and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Miami The Archdiocese of Miami ( la, Archidioecesis Miamiensis, es, Arquidiócesis de Miami, ht, Achidyosèz Miami) is a particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastical territory consists of Broward, Miami ...

in Florida (1971–1975).

Early life

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, on June 9, 1923, Gracida was the second child of Enrique J. Gracida Carrizosa, a Mexican architect and engineer, and Mathilde Derbes, a fifth-generation French-American

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

. His great uncle was a

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 ...

of a diocese in Mexico. As a teenager, René Gracida was fascinated with the

Jesuit martyrs , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

portrayed in the novel ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...

'' by James Fenimore Cooper. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Gracida flew 32 missions in the

US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

first as a tail-gunner, then as a flight engineer, in the 303rd Air Expeditionary Group.After the war, he entered the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Architecture The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

degree. After graduation, Gracida worked as an architect for several years. In 1951, Gracida entered the Order of St. Benedict and went into

Saint Vincent Archabbey Saint Vincent Archabbey is a Benedictine monastery in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the city of Latrobe. A member of the American-Cassinese Congregation, it is the oldest Benedictine monastery in the United States and the largest in th ...

in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. This move upset his father, who disliked Catholic clergy. Required to chose a religious name, Gracida selected

René Goupil René Goupil, S.J. (15 May 1608 – 29 September 1642), was a French Jesuit lay missionary (in French "donné", "given" or "one who offers himself") who became a lay brother of the Society of Jesus shortly before his death. He was the first of ...

, a French Jesuit lay missionary. Gracida took his simple vows in 1953 and his solemn vows in 1956. He was ordained a deacon in 1958.During this period, Gracida attended St. Vincent College and St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe. At St. Vincent Seminary, he earned a

Masters of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

degree.

Priesthood

Gracida was ordained into the priesthood for the

Order of St. Benedict , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

on May 23, 1959. In 1961, after a dispute over plans for a new residence for the Order, the

archabbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fe ...

told Gracida that he was no longer welcome in the order. That same year, Gracida was incardinated, or transferred, from the Benedictine Order to the Archdiocese of Miami.

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

On December 6, 1971, Gracida was appointed by

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 ...

as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and

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 Masuccaba. Gracida was consecrated on January 25, 1972 by Cardinal

John Dearden John Francis Dearden (October 15, 1907 – August 1, 1988) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Detroit from 1958 to 1980, and was created a cardinal in 1969. He previously served as Bishop of Pittsb ...

, with Archbishop

Coleman Carroll Coleman Francis Carroll (February 9, 1905 – July 26, 1977) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop (later archbishop) of Miami from 1958 until his death in 1977. Biography Coleman Carroll was born in Pittsbur ...

and Bishop

Paul Tanner Paul Tanner (October 15, 1917 – February 5, 2013) was an American musician and a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He developed and played the Electro-Theremin, a theremin soundalike instrument that is best known for its use on the B ...

serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

Pope Paul VI appointed Gracida as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee on October 1, 1975; he was installed on November 6, 1975. In 1978, he was granted a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

(honoris causa) from St. Leo College in St. Leo, Florida.

Bishop of Corpus Christi

On May 19, 1983

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 Gracida as the bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi. He was installed on July 11, 1983. Gracida and the Diocese of Corpus Christi were sued in 1988 by a couple who claimed that John J. Feminelli, a diocese priest, had engaged in private "wrestling matches" with their teenage son. The couple claimed that diocese officials slandered the boy, prompting him to recant his testimony in a court case. In 2019, Feminelli was listed with other priests in the diocese with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors. In January 1989, Gracida called for a boycott of all

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

products because of one of their commercial series. The commercials used the " Like a Prayer" music video by the singer

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

that Gracida and other religious leaders considered

sacrilegious Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

. Pepsi eventually withdrew the ads and canceled its contract with Madonna. In June 1990, Gracida excommunicated two parishioners in the diocese who were providing legal

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

services for women, citing canon law. They were Rachel Vargas, a women's health clinic director, and Dr. Eduardo Aquino, an

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

. In an interview, Aquino noted that he had recently won a $800,000 legal settlement against the

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

group South Texas for Life, whose protestors had been picketing his house. Vargas ran her clinic for eight years and did not receive any notices from Gracida until she was interviewed on local television.

Retirement and later life

When Gracida reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops, he submitted his letter of resignation to Pope John Paul II. The pope accepted Gracida's resignation on April 1, 1997. On September 25, 2017, Gracida posted on his blog and publicly signed a " Filial Correction" of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, being the first bishop to sign the document. On June 13, 2018, the

US Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

approved a resolution condemning the immigration policies of the

Trump Administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...

. Bishop

Edward Weisenburger Edward Joseph Weisenburger, J.C.L., is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona since 2017. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Salina in Kansas from 2012 to ...

of the

Diocese of Tucson The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson ( la, Dioecesis Tucsonensis, es, Diócesis de Tucson) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Metrop ...

suggested canonical penalties, which could include excommunication, for federal officials who separate children from families of undocumented immigrants. In a 2018 interview, Gracida rejected the idea of excommunicating these officials, saying, “It’s scandalous for the bishop to say that! They did not write the law but are enforcing it ..it’s absurd and it’s idiotic.” Following Gracida's tenure as bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, that diocese released a list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse, much of which occurred while Gracida was bishop there.

Works

*2016 – ''An Ordinary’s Not So Ordinary Life''

References

External links

"Abyssus Abyssum Invocat: Commentary on all things Catholic, Roman, that is!"
(blog maintained by Bishop Gracida)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus ChristiRoman Catholic Diocese of Pensacola–TallahasseeRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gracida, Rene 1923 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Pensacola–Tallahassee Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Galveston–Houston University of Houston alumni Rice University alumni American people of Mexican descent American people of French descent Cajun people Saint Vincent Seminary alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People from New Orleans Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Religious leaders from Texas Religious leaders from Florida Catholics from Louisiana United States Army Air Forces soldiers American expatriates in Switzerland