Styles of Joseph Lawson E. Howze
Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Bishop

Joseph Lawson Edward Howze (bornLawson Edward Howze; August 30, 1923 – January 9, 2019) was anAmerican Catholic prelate who served as the firstBishop of Biloxi from 1977 to 2001. He was the first openlyBlack Catholicordinary of a U.S. Catholicdiocese.

Howze was born inDaphne,Alabama. He was the oldest of four children born to Albert Otis Howze Sr. and Helen Lawson Howze. His mother died when he was five. He had six siblings in total. He grew up with neighbors who were Catholic and attributed his Catholicism to that influence. He attendedkindergarten atMost Pure Heart of Mary School inMobile. He was later transferred to thesegregatedpublic schools of Mobile, graduating fromMobile County Secondary School in 1944. Howze originally aspired to become a doctor and studied chemistry, biology, and physics. He graduated fromAlabama State Branch Junior College in 1946. In 1948 he earned aBachelor of Arts degree fromAlabama State University.

Howze converted toCatholicism in 1948, taking the name baptismal name ofJoseph.^[1] He later entered the seminary for theJosephites, studying atEpiphany Apostolic College in upstate New York.^[2] He then taught science in the public school system and was later hired to teach atSt. Monica School inTulsa,Oklahoma, in 1952.

After expressing a renewed interest in the priesthood, Howze was accepted to study for thepriesthood at Christ the King Seminary atSt. Bonaventure University inNew York, receiving hisDoctor of Divinity in 1959. He wasordained for theDiocese of Raleigh on May 7, 1959.^[3] He then served as apastor inAsheville.

On November 8, 1972, Howze was appointedAuxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson, andTitular Bishop of Maxita byPope Paul VI. He was consecrated to theepiscopate on January 28, 1973, byArchbishop Luigi Raimondi, theApostolic Delegate to the United States, with BishopsHarold R. Perry andJoseph Brunini serving asco-consecrators.

When theDiocese of Biloxi was created in 1977, Howze was appointed its first bishop. He was the first openly Black bishop to head a diocese in theUnited States. He retired June 6, 2001, and died January 9, 2019, inOcean Springs, Mississippi, at the age of 95.^[4]

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi Official Site
• Oral history with Most Reverend Joseph Lawson E. Howze, University of Southern Mississippi. Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage.
• National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus bio of Joseph Lawson Howze

• 1923 births
• 2019 deaths
• 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
• African-American Roman Catholic bishops
• 20th-century American Roman Catholic bishops
• 21st-century American Roman Catholic bishops
• Catholics from Alabama
• Converts to Roman Catholicism
• People from Daphne, Alabama
• Roman Catholic bishops in Mississippi
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi
• 20th-century African-American people
• 21st-century African-American people
• Epiphany Apostolic College

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages using S-rel template with ca parameter