Gerardo Joseph Colacicco (born September 19, 1955) is an American prelate of the

Roman 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 been serving as auxiliary bishop for the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

since 2019. He serves as the episcopal vicar for the northern counties of the Archdiocese.

Biography

Early life

Geraldo Colacicco was born on September 19, 1955, in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, the eldest of four children of Angelo and Irma Colacicco.Pietrafesa, Dan. "Bishop-elect Gerardo J. Colacicco Eager for His Unexpected New Role", ''Catholic New York'', December 4, 2019
/ref> He grew up in a tight knit extended family that attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and St. Mary's."Bishop Gerardo J. Colacicco", Archdiocese of New York
/ref> His father, having retired from the US Postal Service, became a custodian at St. Mary's, where Colacicco himself, during high school and college, worked at the rectory. He identifies St. Mary's pastor, Matthew J. Cox, and Mount Carmel's

Joseph Maria Pernicone Joseph Maria Pernicone (November 4, 1903 – February 11, 1985) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1954 to 1978. Biography Joseph Pernicone was born ...

as having had a great influence on him. Colacicco graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

in Poughkeepsie, New York with minors in philosophy and Russian studies. He then entered Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York.Tavarez, Elizabeth. "Pope Francis Appoints Marist Alumnus Auxiliary Bishop for Archdiocese of NY", Marist
/ref> During his studies Colacicco served as a deacon at Sacred Heart Parish in

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

Priesthood

On November 6, 1982, Colacicco was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardin ...

. Colacicco served as parochial vicar at Good Shepherd Parish in

Rhinebeck, New York Rhinebeck is a village (New York), village in the Rhinebeck (town), New York, town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeepsie– ...

, Our Lady of Fatima in

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...

, and at St. Denis Parish in Hopewell Junction, New York. In 1989, he was appointed secretary to Cardinal John O'Connor. In 1992, Colacicco received a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Licentiatus; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate ...

from the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the Christian liturgy, liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal (liturgy), ordinal for the ordination and consecration of dea ...

in Rome. He then became director of pastoral formation at St. Joseph’s Seminary. Colacicco returned to Sacred Heart as pastor in 1996. He was named by the Vatican as a monsignor in 1999, and in 2002 became pastor of St. Columba's Parish in Hopewell Junction. In 2014, he was transferred to St. Joseph Parish in Millbrook, New York. Colacicco is a member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

and is an associate chaplain for the New York State Council.

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

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. ...

appointed Colacicco as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York on October 10, 2019. On December 10, 2019, Colacicco was consecrated as a bishop by Cardinal

Timothy Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...

. He serves as the episcopal vicar for the northern counties of the archdiocese which include

Dutchess Dutchess County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie, New York, Poughkeeps ...

, Orange, Putnam, Ulster, and Sullivan counties. In April 2020, as part of the

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

liturgy at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, Colacicco gave a mediation on the

Seven Last Words The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings ar ...

spoken by Jesus from the cross. Due to the

coronavirus 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 identified ...

, the service was livestreamed. His reflections were subsequently published in ''Beneath the Cross''.Colacicco, Gerardo. ''Beneath the Cross'', 2021
/ref>

References

External links