Francis Xavier DiLorenzo (April 15, 1942 – August 17, 2017) was 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 ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Richmond The Diocese of Richmond ( la, Diœcesis Richmondiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its current territory encompasses all of central and southern Virginia, Hampton Roads ...

in Virginia from 2004 until his death in 2017. Previously DiLorenzo was the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Scranton The Diocese of Scranton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868. The seat of the bishop is St. Peter's Cathedral in th ...

in Pennsylvania from 1988 to 1994.

Biography

Early life

DiLorenzo was born on April 15, 1942, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, the oldest of three children of Samuel and Anita Porrino DiLorenzo. He attended St. Callistus School and St. Thomas More High School, both in Philadelphia. He then entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

Priesthood

DiLorenzo was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal

John Krol John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (195 ...

in Philadelphia on May 18, 1968, at age 26. DiLorenzo studied in Rome, earning 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 ...

from the

Alphonsian Academy 150px, St. Alphonsus de Liguori, whose teachings inspired the establishment of the Academy. The Pontifical Alphonsian Academy (; ), also commonly known as the Alphonsianum, is a pontifical institution of higher education founded in 1949 by the Re ...

and a

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 St. Thomas Aquinas. DiLorenzo returned to the United States to work at Saint Pius X High School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania as a chaplain and teacher of theology. He later served as chaplain and associate professor of

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

at Immaculata College in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania. In 1983, Pope John Paul II named DiLorenzo as a

chaplain of his holiness A Chaplain of His Holiness is a priest to whom the Pope has granted this title. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and vestments.Papal Household and received the title prelate of honor of his holiness.

Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton

On January 26, 1988,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed DiLorenzo as an auxiliary bishop of the

and

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 ...

Tigias Tigias was a Roman- Berber town in the province of Africa Proconsularis in Byzacena. Its stone ruins are located in Henchir-Taus in the oasis of Kriz, Tunisia. The city was also the seat of an ancient diocese, which remains a titular see of the ...

; he was consecrated on March 8, 1988, by Bishop

James Timlin James Clifford Timlin (born August 5, 1927) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Scranton from 1984 to 2003. Timlin was accused in a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report of covering up sexual ...

. In 1994, Bishop Joseph Ferrario of the Diocese of Honolulu requested that the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

accept his resignation due to poor health. Pope John Paul II appointed DiLorenzo as

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

of the diocese, while still serving in Scranton, on October 12, 1993.

Bishop of Honolulu

Pope John Paul II appointed DiLorenzo as bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu on November 29, 1994. His installation included

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form accompanied by chant (oli) or song ( mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visua ...

dancing. In attendance were Archbishop

Agostino Cacciavillan Agostino Cacciavillan (14 August 1926 – 5 March 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, and a cardinal since 2001. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1959 to 1998; he was given the titles of archbishop and nu ...

, Cardinal Pio Taofinu'u and Archbishop John R. Quinn. In 1997 DiLorenzo defended the use of hula in a variety of religious services in the diocese despite the Holy See's prohibition on

liturgical dance Worship dance or liturgical dance take on several forms of sacred dance in Christianity and Messianic Judaism, and is usually incorporated into liturgies or worship services. Some liturgical dance was common in ancient times or non-Western settin ...

, calling the hula a native "sacred gesture". At the 2002 convention of the

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

(USCCB), DiLorenzo spoke in favor of tighter restrictions on priests accused of sexual abuse of minors. The new policy, adopted by the USCCB, prohibited accused priests from interacting with parishioners, but allow them to remain in the priesthood. On January 29, 2003, DiLorenzo removed Reverend Roberto Batoon as pastoral administrator of Molokai Catholic Community, a cluster of parishes on the Island of Molokai in Hawaii. Batoon had been accused of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

by several individuals when he was a priest in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

.DiLorenzo is often credited with creating the first zero tolerance policy on allegations of

at the hands of priests—a policy that came about well before the Catholic sex abuse scandals that plagued the rest of the nation in the early 2000s.

Bishop of Richmond

On March 31, 2004, John Paul II appointed DiLorenzo as bishop of the Diocese of Richmond. He was installed there on May 24, 2004.

Personnel changes

Upon his installation, DiLorenzo reactivated the diocese's liturgical commission and named Father Russell Smith parochial vicar at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in New Kent County as diocesan theologian, a post that had been vacant since 1998. As theologian, Father Smith would examine for conformance to Catholic teaching all draft documents and issue approvals authorizing the publication of all printed materials generated by the diocese. Smith also would: (1) approve in advance any person who wishes to speak anywhere on Catholic church property in the diocese; (2) investigate complaints from parishioners who complain about liturgical abuses in a particular church and respond; and (3) recommend sanctions against persons responsible for such abuse to DiLorenzo. DiLorenzo noted that these kinds of checks and controls were needed because, he alleged, some people in the diocese were used to living outside the traditional boundaries of Catholicism. Bishop DiLorenzo forcibly retired Father Thomas J. Quinlan, pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Virginia Beach for a history of using offensive language during mass. It culminated with what DiLorenzo termed a sacrilegious reference to

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, at a Christmas Eve Mass. Although a significant number of parishioners appealed against the decision, many applauded it, wondering why DiLorenzo had not acted sooner.

Diocesan administration

DiLorenzo moved his residence from Cathedral Place in Richmond to

Midlothian, Virginia Midlothian ( ) is an unincorporated area in Chesterfield County, Virginia, U.S. Settled as a coal town, Midlothian village experienced suburbanization effects and is now part of the western suburbs of Richmond, Virginia south of the James Rive ...

. Some Catholics raised questions about the move and see it as a way to distance himself from his flock. But DiLorenzo responded that he is only 25 minutes away from the diocesan offices and that the move saved the diocese money: "Do I need to live in a three-story building by myself? I don't think so." The three-story house was turned into offices for those working in a building that the diocese was renting for $35,000 a year. "We saved ourselves thirty-some thousand a year," said DiLorenzo, "and I moved to Midlothian, a very quiet place." DiLorenzo ended the diocesan sexual minorities commission, which his predecessor had established in 1977.He explained his decision: "What was being done was not a ministry. It was trying to make a statement... for people who see themselves discriminated against. The statement that needed to be made has been made. We are not going to make a big deal about what your fantasy sexual life is". He added that there are moral expectations for everyone: "I think most people would agree that the ministry is to call all persons to Jesus Christ in discipleship. The gender issue was not raised by Jesus.... Jesus called everyone to holiness. Are there certain groups in our population that need help in that journey?" DiLorenzo increased the number of clustered parishes. He also brought in consultants to review some diocesan departments and commissions that need to be abolished.

San Lorenzo Spiritual Center controversy

In 2004, DiLorenzo was drawn into a controversy at the San Lorenzo Spiritual Center in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. The center is a spiritual and cultural organization for 23,000

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

living in

Hampton Roads, Virginia Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...

area. In April 2004, a group of current and former members of the center had sent a petition to DiLorenzo, alleging various acts committed by Reverend Pantaleon Manalo, the center administrator. They accused Manalo of committing financial improprieties, accumulating unexplained personal wealth, missing annual

financial reports Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity. Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...

, abusing his power and making inappropriate sexual statements. In response, the

vicar forane A dean, in an ecclesiastical context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and many Lutheran denominations. A dean's assist ...

for the diocese, Monsignor Thomas J. Caroluzza, asked for Manalo's resignation in December 2004. On December 10, 2004, DiLorenzo terminated Manalo's position, but then temporarily stayed that decision. After further investigation, DiLorenzo announced that Manalo had done no wrong, since the diocese had investigated the center and not Manalo. However, DiLorenzo ordered him to resign from his leadership post. DiLorenzo appointed Father Salvador Anonuevo, pastor of Saint Luke Parish in Virginia Beach, as the new center administrator. Manalo was allowed to continue there as a spiritual director Manalo then sued the petitioner group, seeking $1.35 million for defamation. On August 1, 2005, Judge Padrick of the Circuit Court of Virginia dismissed the defamation lawsuit, terming it an "intrusion into church affairs and violated the religious protections of the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution". In January 2007, DiLorenzo removed Reverend Rodney L. Rodis from public ministry. The pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Buckner, Virginia, and St. Jude Parish in

Mineral, Virginia Mineral is a town in Louisa County, Virginia, United States. The population was 467 at the 2010 census. History Mineral was originally known as Tolersville, but adopted its current name when it incorporated in 1902 due to the mining industry t ...

, Rodis had been arrested for the theft of over $600,000 from the two parishes. During the course of its investigation, the diocese discovered that Rodis had a wife and three children living in a nearby county.

Retirement

In early 2017, DiLorenzo sent a letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Richmond to Pope Francis in early 2017. Francis DiLorenzo died from

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

on August 17, 2017, at St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, at age 75.

References

External links

Catholic Diocese of Richmond

Catholic Diocese of Honolulu

Catholic Diocese of Scranton

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dilorenzo, Francis X. 1942 births 2017 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Honolulu Roman Catholic bishops of Richmond American people of Italian descent Clergy from Philadelphia 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Midlothian, Virginia