For Bishop Francisco González – a retired auxiliary bishop of Washington who died on March 4 at the age of 84 in his native Spain – the Holy Family was central to his life, shaping his childhood, forming the name of the religious order he joined, and guiding his life as a priest and bishop dedicated to helping families be holy, like the Holy Family.
In a 2014 interview marking his 50th anniversary as a priest, Bishop González told me that he drew inspiration from a quotation from Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio. In the conclusion of that document on the role of the Christian family in the modern world, the pope and future saint wrote: “The future of humanity passes by way of the family.”
For a son from a holy family who joined the Sons of the Holy Family religious order and who dedicated his priesthood to serving families, those words rang true.
Bishop González – who was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington in 2002 and retired in 2014 – would have marked his 60th anniversary as a priest this May. He died at the residence of the Congregation of the Sons of the Holy Family in Barcelona, Spain, and his Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in the La Sagrada Familia (“The Holy Family”) Chapel in that city on March 6.
When now-Saint John Paul II appointed Bishop González to be an auxiliary bishop of Washington, the pope in his appointment letter encouraged the new bishop to continue serving families as a Son of the Holy Family. In The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, he did that, serving as vicar general and moderator for Hispanic ministries and as the episcopal vicar for Hispanic Catholics here.
Bishop González once noted that members of the Hispanic community in the archdiocese “have opened their homes, their friendship and their love to me, and I have been blessed by that.” He was inspired by their example of deep faith, joy and devotion to their families and their hard work and sacrifice in helping their children go on to college, despite the challenges many of them faced as immigrants in a new land. “They are religious and caring. They work hard and support each other, and they become an example to the people around them,” he said.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 1964 in Richmond, Virginia, and he later became the first member of the Sons of the Holy Family to be ordained as a bishop. St. Joseph Manyanet founded that religious community to inspire families to make their homes resemble the Holy Family in Nazareth – a place of love, faith and service where Jesus is welcomed.
The bishop, known for his mischievous sense of humor, usually delivering a punchline with his eyes open wide in mock surprise, joked in 2015 about how the United States had become his new home. “I was told I was coming here for four years to study. After my ordination (as a priest), I was asked to stay a little longer. That was 40 years ago.” He added that while “I miss my family, I do not regret staying here.”
In an interview, Bishop González said his parents in Spain resembled the Holy Family. His father was one of two policemen in their hometown, and he noted how his mother, even though she never learned to read and write, taught the Gospel to her children by her example – attending Mass and praying the rosary daily, and helping their neighbors who were in need, always with a joyful spirit. “As the years go by, I always thought in my house was that spirit (of Nazareth), because the presence of God was always recognized and revered,” he said.
His older brother had joined the Jesuits, and his older sister had entered the convent to become a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Anne. When young Francisco would walk through town, holding his mother’s and father’s hands, he remembered people commenting, “Look, it’s the Holy Family!”
His hometown’s church had a beautiful altar dedicated to the Holy Family. Inspired by his parents’ devout faith and by the example of his parish priest, Francisco González entered the seminary and was later ordained to the priesthood as a member of the Sons of the Holy Family on May 1, 1964, which by coincidence was the date that his parents were married more than four decades earlier.
Bishop González’s service as a bishop and priest included writing an award-winning column for El Pregonero, the archdiocese’s Spanish language community newspaper. Over the years, he also served as a director of the archdiocese’s Office of Family Ministry, as the pastor of Our Lady Queen of the Americas Parish in Washington, and as the director of the Hispanic Cursillo and charismatic movements here.
After he marked his 50th anniversary as a priest with a Mass in May 2014, that evening he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to youth at, coincidentally again, Holy Family Church in Mitchellville, Maryland. He said confirming youth was one of his greatest joys as a bishop, because, “I believe in the youth, not only as the future of society, but also as the present.”
Reflecting on his years as a priest and bishop, he said he learned “to trust people, and not to put limits to solidarity. Allow the Lord to work through you, making him the center of your life, and making love the motivation for what you do.” Then the bishop added that he had also learned “not to take myself too seriously.”
Shortly after he had retired, Bishop González was asked what he had been doing, and he responded jokingly, “The least possible!”
Bishop González’s family of faith in the Archdiocese of Washington – who grew to love him as they prayed and laughed with him over the years – will have the chance to say goodbye and thanks to that true Son of the Holy Family when Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrates a Memorial Mass for him on March 14 at 5 p.m. at St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Hyattsville, Maryland.
