Former El Paso Bishop Patricio Flores dead

Former El Paso Catholic Bishop Patricio Fernandez Flores has died at the age of 87 in San Antonio.

Flores was the first Mexican-American priest to become a bishop in the U.S. Catholic Church. He was appointed to lead the Diocese of El Paso in May of 1978, and was made San Antonio’s archbishop the following year in October of 1979. He retired in 2004.

In a statement from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, we are told that Flores died Monday of pneumonia and congestive heart failure. He was living at Padua Place Residence, an assisted living center for retired priests in San Antonio. According to the statement, he died at the residence. He had previously been hospitalized at Baptist Medical Center.

Funeral arrangements are still in the works, but the ceremonies are expected to be held at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio.

A complete obituary and account of Flores’ life can be found here on the Archdiocese of San Antonio’s website.

He had previously been briefly hospitalized at Baptist Medical Center. – See more at: https://www.archsa.org/news/archbishop-patricio-fernandez-flores-87-fourth-archbishop-of-san-antonio-wh#sthash.FED2Nmnp.dpuf He had previously been briefly hospitalized at Baptist Medical Center. – See more at: https://www.archsa.org/news/archbishop-patricio-fernandez-flores-87-fourth-archbishop-of-san-antonio-wh#sthash.FED2Nmnp.dpuf He had previously been briefly hospitalized at Baptist Medical Center. – See more at: https://www.archsa.org/news/archbishop-patricio-fernandez-flores-87-fourth-archbishop-of-san-antonio-wh#sthash.FED2Nmnp.dpuf He had previously been briefly hospitalized at Baptist Medical Center. – See more at: https://www.archsa.org/news/archbishop-patricio-fernandez-flores-87-fourth-archbishop-of-san-antonio-wh#sthash.FED2Nmnp.dpuf