1690 to 1965

The first Catholic mission in Texas, then part of the Spanish Empire, was San Francisco de los Tejas. It was founded by Franciscan Father Damián Massanet in 1690 in the Weches area. The priests left the mission after three years, then established a second mission, Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas, near present-day Alto in 1716.^[1]

In 1839, after the 1836 founding of the Texas Republic, Pope Gregory XVI erected the prefecture apostolic of Texas, covering its present-day area. In 1847, the vicariate became the Diocese of Galveston. A French merchant in 1865 constructed the La Lomita Chapel in Mission, Texas, which in 1871 he bequeathed to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.^[2]

In 1874, Pope Pius IX established the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville out of the Diocese of Galveston. The new vicariate included all the settlements south of the Nueces River to the Río Grande River. In 1912, Pope Pius X erected the Diocese of Corpus Christi, which included the Brownsville area.

1965 to 1980

Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Brownsville in 1965, taking its territory from the Diocese of Corpus Christi. That same year, The pope appointed Reverend Adolph Marx of the Diocese of Corpus Christi as the first bishop of Brownsville. Marx died a few months later that year; Paul VI then named Reverend Humberto Medeiros of the Diocese of Fall River as his replacement.

Medeiros' appointment came at the time of a threatened farm workers' strike.^[3] Many of his parishioners were Mexican-American migrant workers. Medeiros was an advocate on behalf of workers, supporting their demands for a minimum wage at $1.25 an hour.^[3]

During his tenure, Medeiros sold the episcopal limousine, converted all but one room of the episcopal residence into a dormitory for visiting priests, and traveled with migrant workers to celebrate mass in the fields during the harvest season.^[3] He spent Christmas and Easter visiting prisoners in Texas jails.^[4] In 1970, Paul VI named Medeiros as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston. The pope named Auxiliary Bishop John Fitzpatrick from the Archdiocese of Miami to replace Medeiros in Brownsville.

1980 to 1995

In 1982, Fitzpatrick opened Casa Oscar Romero in Brownsville, named after the murdered Salvadorian archbishop, Oscar Romero. It served as a shelter for refugees coming across the Mexican border into the United States. He eventually closed the shelter after repeated complaints from federal judges that he was violating US immigration law.^[5] Fitzpatrick set up a different shelter and even opened his own garage to refugees.^[5] As bishop, he set up an extensive program to train lay people to assume roles within the diocese.^[5] He also established diocese radio and TV stations.^[6]

Auxiliary Bishop Enrique San Pedro of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston was appointed in 1991 by Pope John Paul II as the coadjutor bishop of Brownsville to assist Fitzpatrick. After Fitzpatrick retired later that year, San Pedro automatically became bishop of Brownsville. He died in 1994 after less than three years in office.

1995 to present

In 1995, John Paul II appointed Bishop Raymundo Peña of the Diocese of El Paso as the next bishop of Brownsville. In 2003, the diocese and the United Farm Workers of America settled a lawsuit over five workers who were fired from Holy Spirit Church in McAllen and Sacred Heart Church in Hidalgo.^[7] Peña retired in 2009.

Auxiliary Bishop Daniel E. Flores from the Archdiocese of Detroit was named bishop of Brownsville by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

In November 2018, the diocese sued the Trump Administration, saying that the routing of its border wall with Mexico would cut off access to La Lomita Chapel. The diocese claimed that the federal government was violating its First Amendment rights under the US Constitution. In February 2019, Congress amended an existing appropriations bill to prohibit new funding for any border barriers at La Lomita.^[8][9]

As of 2023, Flores is the current bishop of Brownsville.

Sex abuse

In 2004, the Dallas Morning News published a report on sexual abuse accusations against Reverend Basil Onyia, a Nigerian priest. Onyia arrived in Brownsville in 1999 and was assigned as assistant pastor of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle. By early 2000, the diocese was receiving complaints from staff and parishioners about inappropriate behavior by Onyia towards women and girls.^[10]

In April 2000, after a woman filed a police complaint, Peña transferred Onyia to a parish in Harlingen. Later in 2000, two priests complained from Harlingen complained to Peña about Onyia. In January 2001, Peña asked Onyia's bishop in Nigeria to recall him. In February 2001, the relatives of a developmentally disabled girl accused Onyia of rape. Peña ordered Onyia to a third parish, but, fearing arrest, Onyia fled to Nigeria.^[10] The Vatican laicized him in 2016.^[11]

Deacon Ronaldo Chavez, a school principal, was arrested in January 2014 on charges of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy multiple times in 2013.^[12] Chavez later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison.^[11] The victim sued the diocese in June 2014, claiming that the diocese failed to supervise Chavez.^[13]

The diocese was sued by two siblings in March 2019 who claimed they were sexually abused as young children by Reverend Benedicto Ortiz from 1982 to 1985. Ortiz had persuaded their mother to let the children live with him during the work week; he slept with the children, whom he forced to perform oral sex. Bishop Fitzgerald knew that the children were living with Ortiz; he finally ordered Ortiz to send the children home, but Ortiz was still able to take them to South Padre Island for outings.^[14] In 2021, the court severed the lawsuit into individual lawsuits for each victim and the diocese settled one of the lawsuits.^[13]

Bishops of Brownsville

1. Adolph Marx (1965)^[16]
2. Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1966-1970), appointed Archbishop of Boston (cardinal in 1973)
3. John Joseph Fitzpatrick (1971-1991)
4. Enrique San Pedro (1991-1994; coadjutor archbishop 1991)
5. Raymundo Joseph Peña (1994-2009)
6. Daniel E. Flores (2010–present)

Auxiliary bishop

Mario Alberto Avilés (2018–present)

Other diocesan priest who became bishop

Joseph Patrick Delaney, appointed Bishop of Fort Worth in 1981

Universities

Catholic Campus Ministry, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

High schools

• Juan Diego Academy – Mission
• Saint Joseph Academy – Brownsville

Middle and elementary schools

• Guadalupe Regional Middle School – Brownsville
• Immaculate Conception School – Rio Grande City
• Incarnate Word School – Brownsville
• Oratory Academy – Pharr
• Our Lady of Guadalupe School – Mission
• Our Lady of Sorrows School – McAllen
• St. Anthony's School – Harlingen
• St. Joseph's School – Edinburg
• St. Martin de Porras School – Weslaco
• St. Mary's School – Brownsville

Closed schools

St. Luke's School – Brownsville, closed 2020