Msgr. Rowsome, longtime priest in Diocese of Corpus Christi dies in one-car accident

Msgr. Morgan Rowsome, who served as pastor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles Parish in Corpus Christi for many years before his retirement, passed away Friday, May 21, as the result of a one-car accident on Interstate 37 as he was returning to his home in San Antonio from Corpus Christi.

“Msgr. Rowsome was a joyful, caring servant of the Lord and within the fraternity of priests he was a welcomed brother. Monsignor had a great impact on many lives during his years of priestly ministry in both the Dioceses of Corpus Christi and Laredo and was an inspiration to many vocations to the priesthood,” Bishop Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi said.

“Personally I considered Msgr. Morgan a special friend and will miss his quick humor and joyful laugh. Above all, we will miss his prayerful spirit,” the bishop said.

Visitation and Rosary for Msgr. Rowsome will take place on Tuesday, May 26, beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Mark the Evangelist Church located at 1602 Thousand Oaks Dr. in San Antonio and will be followed immediately by Mass at noon. Msgr. Rowsome's body will be returned to Ireland where he will be buried next to his parents.

The Diocese of Corpus Christi will gather to pray for Msgr. Rowsome during a Memorial Mass to be celebrated on Saturday, May 30, at 11 a.m. at Corpus Christi Cathedral, 505 North Upper Broadway.

Bishop Mulvey asks the faithful in the Diocese of Corpus Christi and all of those he touched in his life of priestly service to pray for him and for his surviving loved ones, including his sister Katherine Lopez and his other siblings and family members in the United States and Ireland.