BILOXI, Miss. (CNS) -- Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, the founding bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi and the first black bishop in the 20th century to head a U.S. diocese, died Jan. 9.

Bishop Howze was 95.

"While we are saddened by the death of Bishop Joseph Lawson Howze, we rejoice in his life," said Bishop Louis F. Kihneman III of Biloxi. "His was a life well lived in faithful service to almighty God and to the people of Mississippi, both as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson and later as first bishop of Biloxi from 1977 to 2001."