Francis John Mugavero was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Brooklyn from 1968 to 1990.
18 Facts About Francis Mugavero
1.
2.
Francis John Mugavero was born on June 8,1914, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn and grew up over his father's barber shop.
3.
Francis Mugavero was ordained as a parish priest on May 18,1940, at the age of 25.
4.
Francis Mugavero headed Brooklyn's office of Catholic Charities before being appointed a bishop.
5.
Francis Mugavero's consecrators were Archbishop Luigi Raimondi, Archbishop Terence Cooke and Bishop John Joseph Boardman.
6.
Bishop Francis Mugavero was the first bishop of the diocese native to Brooklyn.
7.
In 1971, Francis Mugavero established the Catholic Migration Office to serve the needs of immigrants and refugees living in Brooklyn and Queens.
8.
Francis Mugavero often called Brooklyn "the diocese of immigrants," and was proud that Mass was said there in 14 languages.
9.
In 1986 Bishop Francis Mugavero issued a declaration concerning the Bayside Movement, Our Lady of the Roses, in which he stated, "I, the undersigned Diocesan Bishop of Brooklyn, in my role as the legitimate shepherd of this particular Church, wish to confirm the constant position of the Diocese of Brooklyn that a thorough investigation revealed that the alleged "visions of Bayside" completely lacked authenticity".
10.
In 1987, Bishop Francis Mugavero, established the Immaculate Conception Center at the site of the former Cathedral College.
11.
Francis Mugavero was a founder of the Campaign for Human Development, an annual fund-raising drive for the poor.
12.
Francis Mugavero was a priest for 51 years and a bishop for almost 23 years by the time of his death from heart failure at 77, on July 12,1991, the feast of St Veronica, while vacationing in East Hampton, New York.
13.
The New York State Catholic Conference Council of Catholic Charities Directors has created the Bishop Mugavero Award which recognizes an individual who, in the spirit of late Bishop Francis Mugavero, has made a significant and sustained contribution to the work of charity and social justice on a statewide level.
14.
Bishop Francis Mugavero issued more than 20 pastoral letters strongly condemning abortion.
15.
Francis Mugavero tended to avoid public criticism of Catholic politicians who supported a right to abortion.
16.
In February 1976 Bishop Francis Mugavero issued a pastoral letter, "Sexuality - God's Gift", defending the legitimate rights of all people, including homosexuals.
17.
Francis Mugavero said that homosexuals had been "subject to misunderstanding and at times unjust discrimination".
18.
Francis Mugavero said, On a more personal level, we wish to express our concern and compassion for those men and women who experience pain and confusion due to a true homosexual orientation.