Favalora served 25 years as a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans where he worked as a pastor, high school principal, director of vocations, and rector-president of Notre Dame Seminary. Upon returning to New Orleans following his ordination, he served as Assistant Pastor of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church from 1962–70. In addition to his duties at St. Theresa, Favalora served as Vice Rector of St. John Vianney Preparatory School in 1964 and, in 1968, was appointed Principal. In 1973, he began a six-year stint as Pastor of St. Angela Merici Church in Metairie. In 1979, he was named Director of the Office of Vocations for the Archdiocese. Beginning in 1981, he was appointed Rector/President of Notre Dame Seminary, a position he held for the five years immediately prior to his appointment as Bishop of Alexandria, Louisiana.
Episcopacy
appointed Father Favalora the ninth Bishop of Alexandria, Louisiana on June 24, 1986. He was appointed to fill the vacancy left a week earlier when Bishop Wiliam B. Friend was appointed the first Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Shreveport. Favalora was subsequently consecrated and installed as Bishop on July 29, 1986 at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. Archbishop Pio Laghi served as Principal Consecrator with Archbishop Philip Hannan and Bishop William Benedict Friend serving as Principal Co-Consecrators. On March 14, 1989, Favalora was appointed by Pope John Paul II to be the third Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida. He was appointed to succeed William Thomas Larkin, who submitted his letter of resignation abruptly in 1986 upon being diagnosed with leukemia. Bishop Larkin, still eligible to serve an additional 10 years, continued to lead the diocese until Bishop Favalora was installed on May 16, 1989. On November 3, 1994, Bishop Favalora received his third episcopal appointment as the third Archbishop of Miami, Florida, succeeding Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy, who retired upon reaching the usual retirement age. He was installed as Archbishop on December 20, 1994 at the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Miami. Archbishop Favalora submitted his resignation in April 2010, eight months before reaching the mandatory age for episcopal resignation of seventy-five. Favalora has served as a member of the Board of Trustees at The Catholic University of America and St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. He has also served as State Chaplain and a member of the Knights of Columbus in Florida in addition to being President of the Florida Catholic Conference. He has been a member of the USCCB committees on Priestly Life and Ministry, Sexual Abuse and Pro-Life issues.
