His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Joseph Anthony Galante
Bishop of Camden
ChurchRoman Catholic
SeeDiocese of Camden
AppointedMarch 23, 2004
InstalledApril 30, 2004
Term endedJanuary 8, 2013
PredecessorNicholas Anthony DiMarzio
SuccessorDennis J. Sullivan
Orders
OrdinationMay 16, 1964
by John Krol
ConsecrationDecember 11, 1992
by Patrick Flores, Francis B. Schulte, and Francis X. DiLorenzo
Personal details
Born(1938-07-02)July 2, 1938
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 25, 2019(2019-05-25) (aged 80)
Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S.
Previous post(s)Bishop of Beaumont
1994 to 1999
Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas
1999 to 2004
EducationPontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas
Pontifical Lateran University
MottoHave the mind of Jesus
Styles of
Joseph Anthony Galante
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Joseph Anthony Galante (July 2, 1938 – May 25, 2019) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey from 2004 to 2013.

He previously held several positions as a bishop in Texas from 1992 to 2004, after serving in the Roman Curia as undersecretary of the Congregation for Religious from 1986 to 1992.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Galante was born on July 2, 1938, in Philadelphia. [1] He attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960.

Galante was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on May 16, 1964.[2] [1]At the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, he earned his Doctor of Canon Law degree and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, he received a Master of Spiritual Theology degree.[2] Galante was named undersecretary of the Congregation for Religious in December 1986.

Bishop in Texas

Galante held three positions in Texas as bishop:

Bishop of Camden

Galante was appointed bishop of Camden by John Paul II on March 23, 2004.[2] Galante was installed as bishop on April 30, 2004. On April 2, 2008, Galante announced large-scale mergers and closings of half of the parishes in the Camden diocese.

On July 18, 2008, the New York Post reported Galante's involvement in the so-called Vati-Con scandal involving Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri and investor Ronald Burkle.[3] The Post reported that Galante sold Follieri a private beach house in Wildwood, New Jersey, for $400,000 in 2007. It also reported that one of Galante's priests misrepresented himself to potential investors. At the time, Follieri was negotiating with the Diocese of Camden and other US and Canadian dioceses to buy churches with Burkle's money and then sell the properties for later profit.

In September 2008, Follieri pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges, and received a 4+1⁄2-year prison sentence.[4] The beach house was sold in 2010 for $310,000.[5][6] Galante and Burkle were never charged with any crimes in relation to the scandal.

In January 2011, parishioners of the closed St Mary's Parish in Malaga, New Jersey, re-entered the church and began an around-the-clock vigil that attracted regional and national media attention.[7] In a 2011 letter to Catholics in his diocese, Galante announced that he was suffering from chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes, but indicated that he could continue to serve as bishop of Camden.[8]

Retirement and legacy

In 2012, Galante asked the pope to be allowed to resign for health reasons; he served until his resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on January 8, 2013.[9] Galante died on May 25, 2019, at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, New Jersey, from a long illness.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bishop Joseph Anthony Galante [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  2. 1 2 3 "Bishop Joseph A. Galante". Diocese of Camden. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  3. ↑ "A Deal with the Devil", New York Post, July 18, 2008.
  4. ↑ https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/October08/follieriraffaellosentencingpr.pdf
  5. ↑ Fletcher, Juliet. "N. Wildwood condo sale links bishop, accused developer / Galante property buyer had Vatican endorsement", The Press of Atlantic City, July 17, 2008. Accessed May 28, 2013. "When Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Galante decided to put a North Wildwood townhome up for sale in 2006, the head of the Camden diocese dropped it into conversations he had with a jet-setting Italian developer."
  6. ↑ Zillow.com 749 W Oak Ave., North Wildwood NJ.
  7. ↑ "Renegade parishioners defy order to close church". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  8. ↑ "Camden bishop to continue to work while being treated for kidney disease". NJ.com. Associated Press. September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  9. ↑ Babay, Emily (January 8, 2013). "New bishop 'delighted' to lead Camden diocese". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  10. ↑ Bishop Joseph Galante, 80, led Diocese of Camden
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.