Joseph Lawson Howze, American Roman Catholic prelate, Died at 95

Joseph Lawson E. Howze was born on August 30, 1923, in Daphne, Alabama and died on January 9, 2019.

He was an African-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

Howze was appointed as the first Bishop of Biloxi from 1977 to 2001.

Following his expression an interest in the Priesthood, he was accepted to study for the priesthood at Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure University in New York (receiving his Doctor of Divinity in 1959), and was ordained for the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 7, 1959.

Howze served as a pastor in Asheville.

He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson, Mississippi, and Titular Bishop of Maxita by Pope Paul VI, on November 8, 1972.

Joseph Lawson Howze pased away at 95 years old.