February 17, 2012
Jubilee Year
The Jubilee Year of 2000 heralded new beginnings for the Diocese of Corpus Christi. There were “tidings of great joy” in the announcement of a new bishop and a new diocese. On March 17, 2000—the feast of St. Patrick—a son of Ireland, Bishop Edmond Carmody was installed as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Bishop Carmody was born in County Kerry, Ireland in 1934, the second of 13 children in an agricultural family that knew hard work and solid Catholic values. He shepherded his flock through 10 years leaving a legacy of hard work and solid achievement in the Catholic world of south Texas.
New church family
From the beginning of his ministry in south Texas Bishop Edmond Carmody made it a goal to visit each parish and mission at least once for weekend Masses within his first two years. This was quite a feat considering his schedule and that the diocese contained 100 parishes and missions spread over 12 counties. It was highly successful; Catholics all over south Texas began to feel and to express the fondness for their new bishop, who they felt understood and cared about their concerns.
Missionary priests
In keeping with his belief in the value of a priest in even smaller communities to provide a leadership and a focus for spiritual formation, Bishop Edmond Carmody sought more priests from the international community as he remembered his own experiences as a missionary in South America. He welcomed more than 30 priests from such countries as India, Poland and Columbia so that rural missions like Edroy, formerly visited by priests on a weekly basis, could have a resident priest. Many former missions are now thriving parishes due to the work of these priests from abroad.
John Paul II High School
To stress support for Catholic education, Bishop Edmond Carmody and the diocese provided facilities for a charter high school for two years and then worked to establish the new John Paul II High School in December 2005. The school has consistently excelled in athletic and academic achievements while working to promote civic responsibility and Catholic values. Bishop Carmody in retirement continued to support this effort by personally offering his services as a teacher.
