John Walter Flesey (born August 6, 1942) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

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 ...

. Flesey served as an auxiliary bishop of 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 schools in the New Jers ...

in New Jersey from 2004 to 2017.

Biography

Early life

John Flesey was born on August 6, 1942, in Jersey City, New Jersey to Joseph and Mary MacIsaac. He attended St. Aedan’s Grammar School, then went to St. Peter's Preparatory School, both in Jersey City. In 1964, Flesey received a Bachelor of History degree from St. Peter's College in Jersey City, New Jersey."Bishop Flesey"
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Accessed July 9, 2018. "He attended St. Aedan’s Grammar School and St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, graduated from St. Peter’s College with a BA in History in 1964, and attended Immaculate Conception Seminary until 1969, when he was ordained." After graduating from college, Flesey entered Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, remaining there until 1969. During this period, he received a Master of Pastoral Counseling degree from

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

and a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacre ...

degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Priesthood

On May 31, 1969, Flesey was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest by Archbishop Thomas Aloysius Boland for the Archdiocese of Newark.After his ordination, Flesey was assigned to pastoral work at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

, spending 14 years there. In 1983, he entered the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in Rome, obtaining a

Licentiate in Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

in 1985. Returning to New Jersey, Flesey was assigned to Immaculate Conception Seminary as a faculty member. In 1990, Flesey returned to Rome to obtain his

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Roman Catholic C ...

degree from the

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

. Back in New Jersey, he returned to teaching at the seminary and in 1995 was appointed rector, serving for five years. After a sabbatical year in Italy, Flesey was appointed director of ongoing formation for the priests in the archdiocese. He also returned to work at the seminary as spiritual director.

Auxiliary Bishop of Newark

On May 21, 2004,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

appointed Flesey as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark as well as

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Allegheny. He was consecrated at

Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. It is located at 89 Ridge Street in the Lower Broadway neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey. ...

in Newark, New Jersey, by Archbishop John Myers on August 4, 2004. As auxiliary bishop, Flesey served as regional bishop of Bergen County, New Jersey, and as pastor of Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey Franklin Lakes is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,079, an increase of 489 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 10,590, which in turn reflected a ...

. On October 16, 2017, Pope Francis accepted Flesey's letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, submitted when Flesey reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, as required under

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

References

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