From the streets of Selma, Alabama, to the small towns of Guatemala and Death Row in Huntsville, Texas, Archbishop Fiorenza's 91-year lifetime and passion for social justice and equity for the poor, marginalized and oppressed, brought him all around the world. He met with icons of service, such as St. Teresa of Kolkata, and fearlessly stepped up as a voice of desegregation of society in the 50s and 60s.
Father Fiorenza's Seminary and Priestly Ordination Portrait
Father Fiorenza visits with Mother Teresa in this undated photo. Mother Teresa visited Texas in 1976 and toured several cities, including San Antonio and El Paso.
Bishop Fiorenza lays prostrate on the ground during his episcopal ordination as bishop of San Angelo
Archbishop Fiorenza attends an NAACP event, date unkown.
With Rev. Lawson, Archbishop Fiorenza receives the NAACP Unity Award in February 1993.
Bishop Wilton Gregory preaches the homily during an anniversary Mass celebrating Archbishop Fiorenza in November of 2004.
Archbishop Fiorenza receives the offertory during an anniversary Mass honoring his priestly ordination in November of 2004.
Houston,TX.,9/4/2005--Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza (at podium), Rev. Bill Lawson (left to right),Sheik Mustafa Mahmoud and Rabi David Rosen deliver Sunday services to Hurricane Katrina evacuees housed in the Red Cross shelter in the Houston Astrodome.FEMA photo/Andrea Booher
Retired Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston gives the report on the Task Force on Hurricane Recovery during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' spring meeting in Los Angeles June 15. At the meeting, among other actions, the bishops voted on a new English translation of the Mass. (CNS photo/Greg Tarczynski) (June 16, 2006) See BISHOPS-LITURGY June 16, 2006.
Archbishop Fiorenza presides over a prayer service at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in 2007.
Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston address the U.S. bishops from the floor of their annual fall meeting in Washington Nov. 12. (CNS photo/Nancy Phelan Wiechec) (Nov. 12, 2012) See stories BISHOPS- Nov. 12, 2012.
Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, talks with a participant in the annual Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington Feb. 27. Bishop Fiorenza celebrated the opening Mass for the meeting. (CNS photo by Nancy Wiechec) (March 1, 2000)
Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, left, leads the celebration of Mass Nov. 13 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (CNS photo by Bob Roller) (Nov. 14, 2000) See BISHOPS-MASS Nov. 14, 2000.
Leaders of the U.S. bishops' conference pray at the start of their annual fall meeting in Washington Nov. 13. From left is Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, vice president; Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, president; and Msgr. Dennis M. Schnurr, general secretary. (CNS photo by Bob Roller) (Nov. 13, 2000) See BISHOPS-GENERAL Nov. 13, 2000.
ELECTED BISHOPS -- New NCCB president Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza (left) and vice president Bishop Wilton D. Gregory greet one another following their election at the U.S. bishops' meeting in Washington Nov. 17. Bishop Fiorenza, of the Galveston-Houston Diocese, is the first head of the bishops' conference to come from the South. Bishop Gregory of Bellville, Ill., is the first black bishop to take the vice-president post. (CNS photo by Nancy Wiechec) (Nov. 17, 1998) See BISHOPS-ELECT Nov. 17, 1998.
