Elias Richard Lorenzo, O.S.B. (born October 6, 1960) is an American prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who has served as an auxiliary bishop for the

Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and Catholic school, schools ...

in New Jersey since 2020. Lorenzo previously served as the abbot president of the

American-Cassinese Congregation The American-Cassinese Congregation is a Catholic association of Benedictine monasteries founded in 1855. The monasteries of the congregation follow the monastic way of life as outlined by St. Benedict of Nursia in his early 6th century Rule of ...

of Benedictine monasteries. He was the third member of St. Mary's Abbey in

Morris Township, New Jersey Morris Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 22,974, reflecting an increase of 668 (+3.0%) from the 22,306 counted in the 2010 Census, which had ...

, to hold this position and the first to become a bishop.

Biography

Early life

Elias Lorenzo was born on October 6, 1960, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

to William Elias and Mae Theresa Lorenzo. He attended St. Agatha Parish Elementary School in

Sunset Park, Brooklyn Sunset Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, bounded by Park Slope and Green-Wood Cemetery to the north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south, and Upper New York Bay to the ...

and Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Lorenzo enrolled in

Don Bosco College Don Bosco College was a Roman Catholic seminary located in Newton, New Jersey. Opening in , it was operated by the Salesian Order (Society of St. Francis de Sales) until it was closed in 1989 and its 179-acre campus sold to the Sussex County, New ...

in Newton, New Jersey, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. In 1983, he entered St. Mary's Abbey in

. That same year, he started teaching at the Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey. He made his first profession to the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

(OSB) in 1985.

Priesthood

Lorenzo was ordained a priest of OSB at St. Mary's Abbey by Bishop

Frank Joseph Rodimer Frank Joseph Rodimer (October 25, 1927 – December 6, 2018) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey from 1977 to 2004. Biography Early life Frank Rodimer was b ...

on June 24, 1989. After his ordination, OSB named him as director of liturgy at the Abbey, a position he would hold for the next ten years. He continued to teach at Delbarton, fulfilling several roles until being named vice president of the school. Within the

Diocese of Paterson The Diocese of Paterson is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States that encompasses Passaic, Morris, and Sussex counties in northern New Jersey. Most of this territory lies to the west of t ...

, Lorenzo joined the Paterson Diocesan Liturgical Commission in 1988 and was named chair in 1991. At St. Mary's Abbey, Lorenzo was named prior in 1995 as director of liturgy, prior of the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

and rector of the Abbey Church. Following his service as prior, Lorenzo was appointed vicar for religious in the

Diocese of Metuchen The Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen ( la, Dioecesis Metuchenis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in New Jersey, centered in the borough of Metuchen, New Jersey, Metuchen. It was established on November 19, 1981, from the territory of the Roman Cath ...

. Thereafter, he worked as canonical counsel for Praesidium, Inc. in the development of national safe environment standards and protocols. He currently serves on Praesidium's advisory board. In 2009, Lorenzo went to Rome to serve as prior of the Primatial Abbey of Saint Anselmo. In addition, he worked as procurator general for OSB in Rome. After his return to New Jersey in 2011, he was named president of the International Benedictine Confederation, holding that post until 2016. In 2016, Lorenzo was elected abbot president of the American Cassinese Congregation, an association of Benedictine monasteries in the United States. As abbot president, Lorenzo was a member of the federal Union of Superiors General and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. Lorenzo holds the following advanced degrees: * Master of Liturgical Theology from

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

in Collegeville, Minnesota *

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

in counseling psychology from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

in South Orange, New Jersey *

Licentiate in Canon Law Licentiate may refer to: *Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. Religion *Licentiate of Canon Law, Roman Catholic Church * L ...

from the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

in Washington D.C. Lorenzo was a founding member of the International Commission for Benedictine Education and served as its president. In this role, he visited Benedictine schools throughout the United States, Western Europe, South America, Latin America, Africa, Australia, and the Philippines. Lorenzo served on the advisory board of Operation Smile International, having participated in medical missions to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, China,

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, India, Kenya,

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, and the Philippines.

Auxiliary Bishop of Newark

On February 27, 2020, Lorenzo was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Newark by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

. Lorenzo's consecration, scheduled for May 5, 2020, but postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, occurred on June 30, 2020. The principal consecrator was Cardinal

Joseph W. Tobin Joseph William Tobin, CSsR, (born May 3, 1952) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A member of the Redemptorist order, he has been the archbishop of Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey, since 2017. He previously served as the ...

. The co-consecrators were Auxiliary Bishops John Flesey and Manuel Cruz. , Lorenzo serves as regional bishop for Union County in the archdiocese.

References

External links