Family life
"One of the marks of our family was that we always stayed close, even with my extended family,"
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic and
Paula Goldapp of South Texas Catholic News
Published December 8, 2006
Photo courtesy of The South Texas Catholic.
This school photo of Daniel Florez was taken in the first grade. | When asked about who has influenced him most in life, the first names Bishop Flores mentions won't be those of great saints, popes or other bishops.
For him, faith started in the family.
"The first (influence) would have been my parents," he said. "And my maternal grandmother, because she lived with us and did a lot of praying."
When it comes to family — even extended family — Bishop Flores says he's very close with his. His grandmother, Teresa Dilly, gave his family a sense of strong belief in the Lord. His father, who died in 1984, gave him a sense of what is good, and a spirit of hard work and responsibility. The bishop also speaks with his mother, Lydia, every day, and remains very close to his two brothers and sister.
"One of the marks of our family was that we always stayed close, even with my extended family," Bishop Flores said. "We grew up being taught how important it was to stay connected to where you come from and who you come from. That's something I've always appreciated, and I consider it a great grace."
Paula Goldapp | The South Texas Catholic
After standing in an hour-long receiving line at a Nov. 18 farewell reception, then-Bishop-designate Daniel Flores enjoys a traditional south Texas meal of carne guisada, rice and beans, at the table with his mother, Lydia Flores, and niece, Elena Crawford. | His maternal grandmother is a testament to what one person can do to bring light to a family, Bishop Flores said. She lived with the Flores family when Daniel Flores was growing up in the town of Flour Bluff.
"My mother's mother lived with us from the time I was very little, until she passed away, which was when I was in seminary," he said. "She was very devout and influenced the whole family with her devotion and life of faith."
In his youth, he recalls driving often with his parents from Flour Bluff to Zapata, Texas, which was three hours away. There, he'd visit his other grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Daniel Flores holds his birthday piñata in
August of 1965.
Photo courtesy of The South Texas Catholic | "We were taught respect in the family," he said, "and great affection and unity — and the importance of making an effort to stay in communication and visit as often as we could."
His grandparents were Spanish-speaking and, spending time on the border between Texas and Mexico, Bishop Flores said he learned a lot about the culture from which he came, as well.
"It gave me an eye for the richness of the variety of cultures that I grew up into," he said.
In his immediate family, he said, he has been blessed with good and loving parents. His father, Fernando Javier Flores, gave him a great image of a leader, he said.
"He was an example of leadership and of responsibility and justice and love for the family," Bishop Flores said of his father, "but also an example of leadership in that he took the time to explain things to us and tell us why it was important that we do this or that."
It was his father's respect for —and frequent visits to — his family in Zapata that Bishop Flores said taught him the important lesson that a family ought to stay close.
If anyone felt some sadness mixed with the joy of finding out that Msgr. Flores would be a bishop and, subsequently, minister in Detroit, it was Lydia Flores, his mother.
Paula Goldapp | The South Texas Catholic
Elena Teresa Crawford, 6, hugs her uncle, Bishop-designate Daniel Flores, as her mother, Teresa Crawford, sister of the bishop-designate, stands near them. | "Sometimes it hasn't been easy to share him with so many people," said Flores of her son's priesthood, speaking in November at Bishop Flores' farewell celebration in Corpus Christi. "I'll miss him terribly, but it's God's will and we have to accept."
Flores, who still attends the parish Bishop Flores was raised in, said she has long been aware of the love her son has for the Church and its people, and the love they have for him in return.
"I feel very proud of my son," she said. "It's a great feeling I feel inside. It's very hard to explain the joy that I feel."
"I'm thankful for the people who love him," she added. "He's loved very much."
She also acknowledged the role that her own mother had in the new bishop's life, and that her late husband shares in that joy.
"I know that his father would be, and is, very proud of this moment," she said. "Without God uniting us, we would not be enjoying this moment."
At the same farewell celebration, traditionally called a "despadidas" in Spanish, his siblings spoke of young Danny's ambition and vocation.
"As a kid, Danny wanted to be president of the United States," said Teresa Crawford, Bishop Flores' younger sister. "We think this is (much) better."
When younger, Crawford said she felt very secure. Danny was one of her two older brothers, Billie Ellis being the eldest.
"I had it made," Crawford said. "They were overprotective. Danny was always excellent as an older brother."
One of the best childhood memories she has of being with Danny was "catching the bus with him in the morning." The younger siblings — Crawford and the youngest brother, Albert – also remembered their family dining room often being filled with "Danny's friends studying at the table."
Bishop Flores' older brother, Billie Ellis, who now is retired from law enforcement, said that "proud and excited" were the best words he could use to sum up the family's feelings about his brother becoming a bishop.
And to accompany the well-wishes of the faithful in Corpus Christi and in Detroit, Bishop Flores' family indicates that he is coming to serve as a shepherd with strong support and fervent prayers of the family who, by God's grace, helped him become the man he is.
"I pray that God will guide him and that wherever he goes, God will lead him," the bishop's mother said. "I always pray that he will always do his best to serve God every day. That's what I pray before I start my work, for all my children, that they will serve God the best way possible in what they choose to do."
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Bishop-designate Daniel Flores receives the offertory gifts from his mother, Lydia Flores, brother, Albert Flores, and niece and nephew, Elena and Stephen Crawford, during a Nov. 18 "despedida," farewell, Mass at Corpus Christi Cathedral.
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Photos by Paula Goldapp | The South Texas Catholic
Bishop-designate Daniel Flores is greeted by his niece, Elena Teresa Crawford, and nephew, Stephen Daniel Crawford, during a Nov. 18 farewell reception at Corpus Christi Cathedral. |
Larry A. Peplin | The Michigan Catholic
Family celebration
Newly ordained Bishop Daniel E. Flores stands with his consecrating bishops (from left) Bishop Edmond Carmody of Corpus Christi, Cardinal Adam Maida and Bishop Rene H. Gracida, bishop emeritus of Corpus Christi; and many of his family members, (from left) his aunt, Lamar Jenkins, his mother Lydia Flores, his brothers, Albert Flores and Billie Ellis, niece Elena Crawford, 6, his sister, Teresa Crawford, and sister-in-law Cindy Ellis.
Paula Goldapp is editor of the South Texas Catholic newspaper.
Joe Kohn is a reporter for The Michigan Catholic.
Michigan Catholic reporter Robert Delaney also contributed to this story.
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