Franciscan Father Jos� Bia�n, 90

By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | A man of few words who spent 43 years diligently and justly deciding marriage cases for the Metropolitan Tribunal: That’s how fellow priests will remember Father José Biaín, a Franciscan who spent most of his life ministering in the Archdiocese of Miami.

Father Biaín, 90, died May 22, after 73 years of religious profession and 67 years of priestly life. He had moved back to Spain — and his order’s provincial house — in April. Funeral services took place May 25 at the Franciscan monastery in Bermeo, Spain.

Father Biaín had worked as a judge at the archdiocese’s Metropolitan Tribunal for 43 years, handling marriage cases and annulments until his retirement in September 2012. Post-retirement, he lived at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Miami, where he continued to help out until his return to Spain.

According to an email sent by his religious superior, Father Biaín felt ill around midday May 22, was taken to a nearby hospital, and died there a few hours later. Moments before, “with his mind clear,” he had told a fellow Franciscan who accompanied him, “I am leaving. Give me absolution.”

Father Biaín had worked as a judge at the archdiocese’s Metropolitan Tribunal for 43 years, handling marriage cases and annulments until his retirement in September 2012. Post-retirement, he lived at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Miami, where he continued to help out until his return to Spain.

That was typical Father Biaín, say those who knew him.

“A good priest, very hard working and ultimately a man of few words,” said Father Juan López, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul, where Father Biaín lived for many years.

“He was a very honest and just man when it came to handing down sentences in marriage cases, whether in favor or against. He took his work very seriously,” Father López added.

“I remember Father Biaín with great fondness,” said Msgr. Michael Souckar, adjutant judicial vicar at the Tribunal and pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Coral Springs.

Msgr. Souckar started working in the Tribunal as a novice canon lawyer in 1994. He recalled Father Biaín’s kindness “as he taught me from his years of experience that truth, justice and pastoral care lie at the heart of annulment cases.”

When Msgr. Souckar returned to the Tribunal in 2012 after obtaining his doctorate in canon law, “I found Father Biaín still serving faithfully as a judge. Although he was older and feeling his age, his kindness never failed.

“One day, he asked my opinion on how to proceed with an especially complicated case. I was humbled and honored by this simple request from an elder priest whom I have always admired as a canon lawyer. While I hope that I gave him the right answer, something tells me he always knew what to do,” Msgr. Souckar said.

Born May 7, 1925 in Salvatierra, Alava, Spain, Father Biaín entered the Franciscan order in 1942 and was ordained a priest May 14, 1948 in Vitoria, Spain. In 1958, Father Biain was sent to Cuba, where he served as rector of the Franciscan seminary on the island, in Santiago de las Vegas, Havana, until 1961.

In 1962, he was among the group of 132 priests — which also included Auxiliary Bishop Agustin Roman — who were expelled from Cuba by the communist regime. Father Biaín was one of 15 Franciscans who were forced to leave the island. He asked his superiors for permission to come to Florida to help the exiled Cubans in the U.S.

When he arrived in Miami, he was first assigned as parochial vicar at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Miami. Over the years, he also served at Epiphany, Corpus Christi, St. Kieran and St. Raymond parishes, while continuing to work fulltime at the Tribunal.  

This article was updated with more information May 25, 2015.