Joseph Anthony Galante

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


Joseph Anthony Galante
Bishop emeritus of Camden
ChurchRoman Catholic
ArchdioceseNewark
DioceseCamden
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 postBishop of Beaumont
Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas
MottoHave the mind of Jesus
Styles of
Joseph Anthony Galante
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Life and career

Born in Philadelphia, Galante attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, where he received his BA in 1960. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1964. At the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome he earned his doctorate in canon law and at the University of St. Thomas "Angelicum" a master's degree in spiritual theology.[1]

He was named Undersecretary of the Congregation for Religious in December 1986. He was appointed an auxiliary bishop of San Antonio, Texas, in October 1992, and then held two other Texas positions: Bishop of Beaumont from 1994 to 1999 and Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas from 1999 to 2004. He was appointed Bishop of Camden in 2004.[1]

In a 2011 letter to Catholics in his diocese, he announced that he was suffering from chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes, but indicated that he could continue to serve as Bishop of Camden.[2] In 2012 he asked to be allowed to resign for health reasons, and he served until his resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on January 8, 2013.[3]

Galante died on May 25, 2019 at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, New Jersey from a long illness.[4]

Church closings

On April 2, 2008, Galante announced large-scale mergers and closings of half of the parishes in the Camden diocese.

In January 2011, parishioners of the closed St Mary's Church in Malaga, New Jersey, re-entered the church and began an around-the-clock vigil that attracted regional and national media attention.[5]

Involvement in the Vati-Con scandal

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, billionaire investor Ronald Burkle and Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway.[6] The Post reports that Galante sold Follieri a private beach house for $400,000 in 2007 and that one of Galante's priests misrepresented himself to potential investors. At the time Follieri was negotiating with the Diocese of Camden and other North American Roman Catholic dioceses to buy churches with Burkle money and sell the properties for later profit. In September 2008, Follieri pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges, and Manhattan Federal Judge John Koeltl and the next month, imposed a 4 12-year prison sentence.[7] The Galante/Follieri beach house in North Wildwood, New Jersey was put back on the market in 2008 and sold almost two years later for $310,000.[8][9] Galante was never charged in relation to the scandal.

References

  1. "Bishop Joseph A. Galante". Diocese of Camden. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  2. "Camden bishop to continue to work while being treated for kidney disease". NJ.com. Associated Press. September 30, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  3. Babay, Emily (January 8, 2013). "New bishop 'delighted' to lead Camden diocese". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  4. Bishop Joseph Galante, 80, led Diocese of Camden
  5. "Renegade parishioners defy order to close church". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. "A Deal with the Devil", New York Post, July 18, 2008
  7. https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/October08/follieriraffaellosentencingpr.pdf
  8. 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."
  9. Zillow.com 749 W Oak Ave., North Wildwood NJ.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio
Bishop of Camden
2004–2013
Succeeded by
Dennis J. Sullivan
Preceded by
-
Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas
1999–2004
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Bernard J. Ganter
Bishop of Beaumont
1994–1999
Succeeded by
Curtis J. Guillory
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