John Louis Morkovsky

John Ludvik Morkovsky (August 16, 1909 – March 24, 1990) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Galveston Houston in Texas from 1975 to 1984.

Morkovsky previously served as coadjutor bishop of Galveston Houston from 1963 to 1975, bishop of the Diocese of Amarillo in Texas from 1958 to 1963 and as auxiliary bishop of Amarillo from 1956 to 1958.

Biography

Early life The seventh of ten children, John Morkovsky was born on August 16, 1909, in Praha, Texas, to Alois and Marie (née Raska) Morkovsky. Alois Morkovsky immigrated to the United States from Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic), while Marie Raska was the daughter of Moravian immigrants. John Morkovsky was baptized by Reverend Louis P. Netardus at his parents' home. He earned his doctorate in theology in Rome in 1936. He also attended the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965. In 1964 he founded the diocesan newspaper The Texas Catholic Herald and hosted the visit of Cardinal Josef Beran. Morkovsky established the first diocesan mission in Guatemala City in 1966, and the Hospital Chaplains Corps at Houston Medical Center in 1968. From 1970 to 1972, Morkovsky was the first Catholic bishop to preside over the Texas Conference of Churches.

On April 22, 1975, Morkovsky automatically succeeded Nold as the sixth bishop of Galveston-Houston . During his tenure, he established African American and Mexican American ministries and gave special attention to low-income parishioners and Houston's large Vietnamese community. The Catholic Church in Texas continued to experience tremendous growth which helped lead to further divisions of the diocese, including the Diocese of Beaumont (1966), the Diocese of Victoria (1982), and the Diocese of Tyler (1987).

Retirement and legacy On August 21, 1984, Pope John Paul II accepted Morkovsky's resignation as bishop of Galveston-Houston. He continued to live in his home on the grounds of St. Mary's Seminary in Houston.

On March 24, 1990, Morkovsky died at age 80 from a stroke in Tacoma, Washington, where he was visiting relatives. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Houston.