| Bishop René Gracida | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Corpus Christi | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| See | Corpus Christi |
| In Office | May 19, 1983 — April 1, 1997 |
| Predecessor | Bishop Thomas Drury |
| Successor | Bishop Roberto González Nieves |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 23, 1959 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 9, 1923 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Previous post | Titular Bishop of Masuccaba, Bishop of Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Bishop of Diocese of Corpus Christi |
Bishop René Henry Gracida (born June 9, 1923 in New Orleans, Louisiana) was the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami (1971–1975), the first Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee (1975–1983) and Bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi (1983–1997). As auxiliary bishop of Miami he had the honorific Titular Bishop of Masuccaba (1971–1975).
He was the second child of Enrique J. Gracida Carrizosa, an architect and engineer of Mexican descent, and Mathilde Derbes, a fifth-generation French-American.[1]
He was a tail-gunner in the 303rd Hell's Angels in World War Two. After the war, he attended Rice University, the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and the University of Houston, where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture. He later attended St. Vincent College and St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. At St. Vincent Seminary, he earned a Masters of Divinity. In 1978, he was granted a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from St. Leo College.
He was ordained a priest on May 23, 1959, when he was 36 years old. In 1971, he was appointed by Pope Paul VI as Auxiliary Bishop of Miami and was consecrated on January 25, 1972 as Titular Bishop of Masuccaba by Cardinal John Francis Dearden of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Archbishop Coleman Carroll of the Archdiocese of Miami, and Bishop Paul Francis Tanner of the Diocese of St. Augustine.
He was appointed the bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee on October 1, 1975 and installed on November 6, 1975. On May 19, 1983, Pope John Paul II appointed him as the bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi where he remained until his resignation at 73, earlier than the mandatory resignation age of 75, was accepted by the same Pope on April 1, 1997. He is one of a small number of bishops who blog.