Enrique San Pedro

Last updated
His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Enrique San Pedro

S.J.
Bishop of Brownsville
Church Catholic Church
See Diocese of Brownsville
In office1991 to 1994
Predecessor John Joseph Fitzpatrick
Successor Raymundo Joseph Peña
Previous posts Titular Bishop of Siccesi, Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston (1986 to 1991)
Orders
OrdinationMarch 18, 1957
by  William Brasseur
ConsecrationJune 29, 1986
by  Joseph Fiorenza
Personal details
BornEnrique San Pedro y Fonaguera
(1926-03-09)March 9, 1926
Havana, Cuba
DiedJuly 17, 1994(1994-07-17) (aged 68)
Miami, Florida, US
MottoLibentissime impendam et super impendar
(Most gladly I will spend myself and be spent for your sakes)

Enrique San Pedro, S.J. (born Enrique San Pedro y Fonaguera) (March 9, 1926 - July 17, 1994) was a Cuban-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville in Texas from 1991 until his death in 1994 and previously as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston from 1986 to 1991. San Pedro was a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

Contents

Biography

Early life

Enrique San Pedro was born March 9, 1926, in Havana, Cuba, [1] the second child and oldest son of María Antonia Fornaguera and Enrique San Pedro y Xiques. His siblings were: Silvia, Berta and Javier San Pedro y Fornaguera.

San Pedro studied at Colegio de Belén and entered the novitiate of the Jesuits at Escuela Apostólica y Seminario Menor in Sagua la Grande, in Cienfuegos, Cuba, on December 7, 1941. [1] After two years of novitiate, he underwent four years of Greek and Latin studies in Havana and in Salamanca, Spain, where he received a master's degree in classical literature. [1] These studies were followed by three years of Philosophy at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, Spain. San Pedro was sent to Manila, Philippines, to study Mandarin, Tagalog and Vietnamese languages. While there, he also taught social sciences and Latin at the Jesuit school in the Philippines. San Pedro also studied theology in Baguio, Philippines.

Priesthood

San Pedro was ordained a priest by Bishop William Brasseur for the Jesuits on March 18, 1957. [2] [3] He continued his studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and received his doctorate in sacred scripture from the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He spoke seven languages, wrote two books and some professional articles and book reviews. [4]

After finishing his education, the Jesuits sent San Pedro to what was then South Vietnam to teach at the Pius X Pontifical College in Da Lat. He also worked at the Student Center of St. Francisco Javier in Huế. In March 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War, he was expelled from the country by the new Vietnamese government.

San Pedro came to the United States in the late 1970s. [2] He went to Miami, Florida to visit his parents and stayed as assistant pastor at St. Raymond's Parish in that city. He taught classes at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami periodically from 1977 to 1986. He also worked as a visiting professor at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida [2] and at the Jesuit seminary in the Dominican Republic (1976–1977). San Pedro in 1978 asked his Jesuit superiors to assign him again as a missionary; they sent him to Suva, Fiji Islands for two years.

Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston

On April 1, 1986, San Pedro was appointed by Pope John Paul II as an auxiliary bishop of Galveston-Houston and titular bishop of Siccesi. He was consecrated at the Albert Thomas Convention Center in Houston, Texas, on June 29, 1986, by Bishop Joseph Fiorenza. His co-consecrators were Archbishop Edward McCarthy and Bishop Agustin Roman. [3] San Pedro took his motto from II Corinthians, I2, 15: Libentissime impendam et super impendar (Most gladly I will spend myself and be spent for your sakes).

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Brownsville

San Pedro was appointed on August 13, 1991, by John Paul II as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville. [5] He was installed as bishop on September 26, 1991. On November 30, 1991, San Pedro succeeded as the fourth bishop of Brownsville.

Death and legacy

Enrique San Pedro died in Miami on July 17, 1994, at age 68. [5] [3] He is buried at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Miami. [3]

In Brownsville, Texas, the diocese named its homeless shelter after him, the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center. The Bishop San Pedro Spanish Club, a service club in Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami is named after him.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Quaintance, Zack. "Diocese's fourth bishop spent life learning", Brownsville Herald, February 8, 2013". Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Batts Jr., Battinto. "E. San Pedro, Cuban-born Texas Bishop", (obit) Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, July 18, 1994". Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-02-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Bishop Enrique San Pedro [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  4. ↑ "Balli, Cecelia. "Bishop Enrique San Pedro dies in Miami", The Brownsville Herald, July 18, 1994". Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  5. 1 2 ""About the Diocese", Catholic Diocese of Brownsville". Archived from the original on 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2014-02-27.

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Brownsville
1991–1994		Succeeded by
Preceded by
–
 Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston
1986–1991		Succeeded by
–
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