 After expressing an interest in the priesthood Howze was accepted to study for the priesthood at Christ the King Seminary at St. Bonaventure University in New York (receiving his Doctor of Divinity in 1959), and was ordained for the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 7, 1959.He served as a pastor in Asheville.On November 8, 1972 Howze was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Natchez-Jackson, Mississippi, and Titular Bishop of "Maxita" by Pope Paul VI.