'Saloon Priest' Peter Colapietro Dies At 69, Reports Say

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Rev. Peter Colapietro — the larger-than-life catholic priest who befriended many celebrities and media types at New York City hotspots — died Monday night at the age of 69, the New York Times first reported.

Colapietro succumbed to emphysema after about a year in a rehabilitation facility, the catholic priest's cardiologist told the New York Times. The priest, known to many as "Father Pete," worked at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church on West 42nd Street for more than 20 years before stops at the Church of St. Monica on the Upper East Side and St. Malachy’s Church, known as the actor's chapel.

The Roman catholic priest was dubbed the "saloon priest" due to his past work in bars and his propensity for hitting up the favorite late-night spots of those in the media and entertainment businesses. Colapietro became a regular at Elaine's, a celebrity hotspot on the Upper East Side that shuttered in 2011.

While Colapietro served as pastor at Holy Cross he was able to talk actor Mickey Rourke out of suicide. Rourke showed up at the church with a gun and a suicide note, intending to kill a man who allegedly raped his wife Carré Otis, but Colapietro was able to disarm the actor.

Rourke arranged for an Arthur Avenue restaurant to send the priest Sunday dinner for 10 weeks during a recent stint in the hospital, the New York Post reported.

Colapietro, who stood 6-feet-tall and weighed more than 300 pounds, was raised in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. Before becoming a priest, Colapietro worked as a construction worker, a longshoreman and as a bouncer.

Patch editor Colin Miner contributed to this report.

Read the full New York Times article here.

Photo by Tina Fineberg/Associated Press