SAN JUAN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Bishop Emeritus Raymundo J. Peña died at 87 years old, the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville announced on Friday.
Bishop Peña led the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville for 14 years before retiring in 2009. He died Friday afternoon at the San Juan Nursing Home near the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle.
Catholic Diocese of Brownsville stated that Bishop Pena was recently hospitalized at Rio Grande Regional and was released on Thursday evening.
“We give thanks to God for his service to the Diocese and pray for the repose of his soul,” said the Most Rev. Daniel E. Flores, bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville. “May God reward him for his labors.”
Bishop Peña was ordained a priest in 1957 in Corpus Christi and served 19 years at the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
He became one of the youngest bishops in the country at 42 and was the fourth Hispanic bishop in the U.S.
“During his time as shepherd of the people of the Rio Grande Valley he lived his motto ‘Haz todo con amor,’ taken from ‘1 Corinthians 16:14’,” Bishop Flores said in a statement.