 He was consecrated to the episcopate on January 28, 1973 by Archbishop Luigi Raimondi, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, with Bishops Harold Robert Perry, S.V.D., and Joseph Bernard Brunini serving as co-consecrators.When the Diocese of Biloxi was created in 1977, Howze was appointed as its first bishop.He was the first black bishop in the 20th century to head a diocese in the United States.