RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) -- Bishop Emeritus F. Joseph Gossman, the fourth Bishop of the Raleigh diocese, died Monday at the age of 83 following a long illness.
He served as Bishop of Raleigh from 1975 until 2006.
During his episcopacy, Bishop Gossman spoke out on issues from the plight of the poor, to care and concern of the immigrant, to strong opposition to capital punishment.
Bishop Gossman played a leading role in the creation of the North Carolina Lutheran-Roman Catholic Covenant that was signed in 1991 by the Dioceses of Raleigh and Charlotte and the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
A celebratory mass for Bishop Gossman is tomorrow at Sacred Heart Cathedral at noon.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized.
