René Henry Gracida (born June 9, 1923) is an

American Catholic The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Corpus Christi from 1983 to 1997. He previously served as Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee in Florida (1975–1983) and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Miami The Archdiocese of Miami (, , ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in South Florida in the United States. It is the metropolitan see for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, which ...

in Florida (1971–1975).

Early life

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, 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. His great uncle was a

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

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

Jesuit martyrs The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

portrayed in the novel ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is an 1826 historical romance novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder'', ...

'' by James Fenimore Cooper. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 The 303rd Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. In 2011, it was assigned to United States Air Forces Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. The unit was first activated as the 303rd Bombardment Group in Febr ...

. After the war, he entered the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture 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 choose a religious name, Gracida selected

René Goupil René Goupil, (15 May 1608 – 29 September 1642), was a French Jesuit lay missionary (, "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 the eight North Ame ...

, 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 Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe. At Saint 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 on May 23, 1959 by Bishop Hugh L. Lamb. In 1961, after a dispute over plans for a new residence for the Order, the archabbot 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

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

On December 6, 1971, Gracida was appointed by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

as auxiliary bishop 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, with Archbishop Coleman Carroll 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 ...

serving as co-consecrators. During this period, Gracida got a pilot's license and rented small planes to serve parishes in the archdiocese.

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

Pope Paul VI appointed Gracida as the first bishop 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 Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(honoris causa) from

St. Leo College Saint Leo University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a B ...

in St. Leo, Florida.

Bishop of Corpus Christi

On May 19, 1983

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Gracida as the bishop of Corpus Christi. He was installed on July 11, 1983. In 1985, he was named the Grand Prior of the newly-created Southwestern USA Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Gracida and the diocese were sued in 1988 by a couple who claimed that Reverend 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 water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

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, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

that Gracida and other religious leaders considered

sacrilegious Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physical ...

. 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 early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

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 movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

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

Pope John Paul II 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 (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, 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 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Co ...

approved a resolution condemning the immigration policies of the

Trump Administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

. Bishop

Edward Weisenburger Edward Joseph Weisenburger (born 23 December 1960) is an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who has served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, Archbishop of Detroit since 2025. He previously served as Roman ...

of the

Diocese of Tucson The Diocese of Tucson ( – ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory – or diocese – of the Roman Catholic Church in southern Arizona in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdio ...

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. Gracida

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

on June 9, 2023.

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 men centenarians American expatriates in Switzerland 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 Clergy 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 Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI Grand Priors of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre