Oldest Catholic Bishop In World, 104, Dies In N.J.

The oldest Catholic bishop in the world passed away Tuesday in New Jersey, church sources say.

The 104-year-old Rev. “Peter Leo” Gerety, a former archbishop, passed peacefully on Tuesday night while in the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa, the Archdiocese of Newark stated.

At the time of his passing, Gerety was the “oldest Catholic bishop in the world,” the Archdiocese said.

Archbishop of Newark Rev. John Myers said that the church is mourning a “remarkable churchman” who will be missed.

“He served as shepherd of this great archdiocese during a time of spiritual reawakening in the years after the Second Vatican Council and a time of deep financial difficulties,” Myers stated. “He very carefully led the church, her people and institutions through those challenges.”

Gerety is predeceased by eight brothers and is survived by nephews, nieces and their children.

‘IN OMBIBUS CHRISTI’

Reflecting on Gerety’s 77 years of priestly and episcopal ministry – as well as more than a century of life - his longtime friend and fellow priest Msgr. Frank Seymour once wrote:

“When he was ordained a bishop in 1966, [Gerety] chose as his motto: ‘In omnibus Christi’ – ‘In all Things, Christ.’ As he made Christ the center of his life, he wanted to do the same for others by entering the priesthood.”

According to church sources, Gerety was born on July 19, 1912, in Shelton, CT, the eldest of nine sons of New Jersey natives Peter and Charlotte Daly Gerety. His father’s family lived first in the Greenville section of Jersey City, where they were parishioners of St. Paul’s Parish-Greenville, then moved to Shelton where “Leo” – as the family addressed the first-born – attended public schools.

While a student at Shelton High School, Gerety won scholastic honors and was captain of the football team. After graduating and working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Jersey Transportation Department, Gerety entered St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, CT, and was chosen for study abroad at St. Sulpice Seminary in Issy, France.

He was ordained for service in the Archdiocese of Hartford on June 29, 1939, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

“During some 27 years of service as a priest in the Archdiocese of Hartford, the majority of which was spent in New Haven, [Gerety] devoted considerable effort and energies to the social and spiritual needs of the black Catholic community in that city,” the Archdiocese stated in a news release. “He founded an interracial social and religious center, the St. Martin de Porres Center, which became St. Martin de Porres Parish in 1956 with [Gerety] as its first pastor. A champion of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, he founded the New Haven chapter of the Urban League and was a member of the Connecticut State Committee on Race and Religion and the National Catholic Conference on Interracial Justice.”

On March 4, 1966, Pope Paul VI appointed Monsignor Gerety Titular Bishop of Crepedula and Coadjutor with the right of succession to Bishop Daniel Feeney of Portland, ME. He was ordained to the episcopacy on June 1, 1966, and named apostolic administrator in 1967, and succeeded to the seat of the diocese in 1969 upon the death of Bishop Daniel Feeney.

“During his years as a priest and bishop in New England, Gerety was active in numerous pro-life and social justice causes, led campaigns to protest against state legislative efforts to legalize abortion and defended the rights of conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War,” the Archdiocese stated.

In 1974 Pope Paul VI appointed Gerety as Third Archbishop of Newark, succeeding the retiring Rev. Thomas Boland. He was installed as Archbishop on June 28, 1974.

According to the Archdiocese, his accomplishments during his 12-year tenure include:

• “Built and strengthened outreach to Latin American and black Catholic communities in northern New Jersey”
• “Established Renew International, an organization recognized internationally as a premier resource for parish-based spiritual renewal to inspire Catholic men and women to act on their faith through works of charity and justice”
• “Created a formal parish-based Archdiocesan Appeal program to provide long-term annual support of vital parish, social service and school ministries”
• “Served on numerous committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops”

Photo: Archdiocese of Newark Communications Office

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