Area clergy react to appointment of new Brownsville bishop

SAN JUAN — All of the Catholic priests in the Rio Grande Valley got the news via text message Wednesday morning.

Pope Benedict XVI had named Daniel Flores as bishop of the Dioceses of Brownsville to replace Bishop Raymundo Peña.

Priests who had Mass that morning shared the information with its parishioners.

“I began to pray from him,” said Monsignor Gustavo Barrera, pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in McAllen, while waiting to meet the new leader Wednesday at the Basilica of San Juan.

The Rev. Ignacio Tapia, vocation director for the Diocese of Brownsville, said he had mixed feelings.

“It is always hard to see go a bishop who is a good leader, a person with whom you have grown as a pastor, but at the same time you are happy, because there is a new leader,” he said.

All the priests from western part of the diocese were invited to meet the new bishop in the Basilica the San Juan, a way to continue Peña’s tradition of having events at the shrine.

“Not only I feel like, but I know that the new bishop will continue to continue celebrating here (in the Basilica de San Juan), especially because I know the love he has for our Holy Mother,” said the Rev. Eduardo Ortega, rector of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle.

“For me is a blessing from God, to have a bishop so educated, so spiritual and very human,” said Monsignor Juan Nicolau, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in McAllen. 

“Jesus was only 30, it does not have to do with age, it has to do with pastoral experience,” Barrera said.

“I am 10 years younger than he is, it only means that he has energy to work more for the reign of God,” said Rev. Juan Ortiz from the Pharr Oratory of St. Philip Neri School and vicar of St. Jude’s Thaddeus Church in Pharr.

Flores will be installed Feb. 2 in the Brownsville Cathedral.

Peña will remain as the diocese’s apostolic administrator until then and plans to continue living in the Rio Grande Valley as a bishop emeritus until his death.

Flores shook the hand of every priest, sister and employee of the diocese gathered in the shrine. He is going back to Detroit this morning leaving a message in Spanish: “En Cristo bautizados, con sacrificios alimentados, a la vida nos entregamos, hasta que en el cielo descansamos.” (Baptized in Christ, and fed with sacrifices we render ourselves to life until we rest in heaven)”.

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Martha L. Hernández covers Mission, western Hidalgo County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4846