Bishop Daniel Flores, who was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville Dec. 9, blesses a woman following the press conference held at he Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville. Also pictured is retiring Bishop Raymundo Peña, who once served as a priest for the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Bishop Flores will be formally installed as bishop during a Mass on February 2, 2010 at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in San Juan.

Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Raymundo J. Pena of Brownsville, Texas, and named Auxiliary Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Detroit to succeed him.

The changes were announced in Washington Dec. 9 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Pena, who turned 75 Feb. 19, was the longest-serving active Hispanic bishop in the U.S. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, he was named an auxiliary bishop of San Antonio in 1976 and had headed the Brownsville Diocese since 1995.

Bishop Flores, who serves as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said he was "delighted beyond words" at the appointment, is grateful for his experience in the Archdiocese of Detroit and is looking forward to getting to know the people of the Valley.

Bishop Flores was ordained a bishop on November 29, 2006 at Detroit's Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. He was born in Palacios, Texas, baptized in Zapata, Texas, and grew up in Corpus Christi.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Corpus Christi in January 1988. As a priest of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, he served in a number of capacities, including Parochial Vicar at Corpus Christi Cathedral, Secretary to the Bishop, Diocesan Master of Ceremonies, Assistant Chancellor, Rector of Saint John Vianney House of Studies, and Episcopal Vicar for Vocations.

Bishop Flores also served in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, on the formation faculty and as vice-rector of St. Mary's Seminary and on the teaching faculty at the University of St. Thomas School of Theology.

Bishop Edmond Carmody said, "We area happy to have Bishop Flores back in Texas. He knows this are very well. He knows the culture and is able to communicate with the people. He is excellent for Brownsville, which is a very large diocese and is growing in numbers every day. We wish him well and we welcome him home."

As an auxiliary bishop in Detroit, he has overseen seven of the 18 vicariates in the archdiocese, advised the archdiocese on immigration issues and helped establish the Office for Hispanic Affairs.

"The years of Bishop Flores' ministry here in the archdiocese have been a great blessing. In particular he has placed the ministry to Hispanic Catholics here on a solid foundation," said Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron in a statement. "He goes with the love and prayers of all of us, his family in Detroit -- where he will always find a ready welcome ‘back home,'" Archbishop Vigneron added.

Of his time in Detroit Bishop Flores said, "The generosity of the people in the Archdiocese of Detroit, and their deep commitment to the life of the Church, even in very difficult times, has shown me how powerfully God's grace works. In the life of the Church, it is never only about how many material resources we have, it is mostly about how well we work together to marshal those resources of grace that God gives so abundantly and in such variety to his people. I have made many friends in Detroit, and I have learned so much from so many people; it will be hard to leave them."

He said he has been "especially moved and affected by the great generosity and fidelity of the Hispanic communities in the Detroit Archdiocese. It is a very rich community in faith and devotion, and in great works of charity."

He noted that he has witnessed many families who face great struggles. "Jobs are scarce at times, and family life is threatened in many ways. Families are often separated. I have seen very closely how difficult it is for families to provide for and form their children, and yet despite the struggles of life, I have seen such joy in the families I have come to know. Joy is there because the love of Christ, and the hope He brings, is deeply present in these families. This has affected me deeply, and I will always be grateful that so many families allowed me to share in their lives, in their sorrows and their hopes. I think I will carry that grace with me always, and take it with me to Brownsville."

Bishop Flores will be formally installed as bishop during a Mass on February 2, 2010 at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in San Juan.

At age 48, Bishop Flores is one of the youngest bishops in the United States, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Flores said his family is also happy to have him closer to home. His mother, Lydia Flores, lives in Corpus Christi, and is a member of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Flour bluff. He also has three siblings and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews in south Texas.

The Brownsville Diocese, along the Rio Grande, has a Catholic population of 800,000 and a total population of 940,000. Bishop Pena, the retiring bishop, was ordained for the Diocese of Corpus Christi in 1957. In addition to parish posts, he served as diocesan youth director, 1967-70, and editor of the Texas Gulf Coast Catholic, as the Corpus Christi diocesan newspaper was then known, 1970-75.

He was an auxiliary bishop of San Antonio from 1976 until 1980, and served for about six months in 1979 as administrator of the archdiocese. Named to head the Diocese of El Paso in 1980, he held that post for 15 years until his appointment to Brownsville.

Over the years a chief concern for Bishop Pena has been the lack of priests available to serve the region's burgeoning Catholic population. As a bishop of a border diocese, he also has been a long-standing advocate of justice for immigrants, especially those coming into the U.S. from Mexico. He has been outspoken about "the anti-stranger sentiment'' that he has seen taking shape in public policy and attitudes in recent years.

On the national level, Bishop Pena is a former chairman of what were then the U.S. bishops' Committee on Hispanic Affairs and Committee for the Church in Latin America. He also was a member of the committee on what is now the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Committee on Migration and the now defunct Committee on Pastoral Response to the Challenge of Proselytism.

In 1990 he urged the U.S. bishops' conference to give "an ever more focused emphasis to Hispanic concerns" and said increasing the number of Hispanic bishops "would certainly attest to the church's response to the nationwide Hispanic presence."

Bishop Flores said his first priority will be "to spend a lot of time getting to know the life of the Diocese of Brownsville, in every part of the Diocese.

"I will want to listen to people describe the challenges, and the hopes of the communities. I have some ideas about what the greatest challenges are, but I want the priests, religious, laity and deacons to help me describe them accurately, and then work to address them."

He noted that there are "many activities and projects in full operation in my future diocese, and I need to become familiar with how they work and how best to help those already addressing the major challenges to continue to do so with a spirit of Christ-like generosity and hope. We also have to be flexible enough to address new challenges as they arise."

He said that another priority would be to get to know the priests as quickly as possible. "I really look forward to that. These are the men on the front lines of parish life. I want to be able to help them do what God and the Church have called them to do."

The bishop said he plans to continue to work to promote vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. "I see great signs of hope in this area in the lives of young people. I saw it in Texas when I served there, and I saw it in Detroit. I look forward to focusing on inviting young people to join Christ in the adventure of dedicating their lives to the spread of His Gospel, and to the life of the Church. But to focus on vocations implies that we must work to make sure family life is solidly rooted in the Gospel, and that religious education and youth groups in our parishes are strong."

He recalled the words of a mentor from the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Father Mark Chamberlin, who told him that a vocation to the priesthood, is a sign of the spiritual health of the local church.

Bishop Flores added that he is blessed by his appointment. "I am just so delighted to be able to live and work in the Valley. I think a good bishop has to love the people he is sent to serve. And to love them means to get to know them, to serve them, and to invite them to serve one another. This love is the focus of my life in my new home, the Diocese of Brownsville, and it already gives me great joy."