Anthony Bevilacqua

infobox cardinalbiog


name = Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua
See = Philadelphia (Emeritus)
Title = Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia
Period = December 8, 1987 – July 15, 2003
cardinal = June 28, 1991
Predecessor = John Krol
Successor = Justin Francis Rigali
post = Bishop of Pittsburgh
date of birth = Birth date and age|1923|6|17|mf=y
place of birth = Brooklyn, New York |

infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
relstyle=Cardinal
deathstyle=not applicable
See=Philadelphia (Emeritus)

Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (born June 17, 1923 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the Bishop of Pittsburgh from 1983 to 1987 and Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1987 to 2003, and was raised to the cardinalate in 1991.

Biography

He was one of eleven children born to Luigi and Maria (née Codella) Bevilacqua, Italian immigrants who came to the United States around 1913, in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Public School 60, St. Thomas the Apostle School, Richmond Hill High School, and Cathedral Preparatory Seminary (Queens) . In 1943, he graduated from the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, New York, and was ordained a priest at Brooklyn's St. James Cathedral on June 11, 1949.

As a priest, Bevilacqua served the Diocese of Brooklyn for 34 years. During this time he also took several degrees, a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, his master's degree in political science from Columbia University, and a law degree from St. John's University, which he received at age 52. Father Bevilacqua also served as a faculty member on the Cathedral College and at the diocesan seminary and St. John's University, a chaplain, vice-chancellor and chancellor, and even established the Catholic Office for Migrants and Refugees in 1971. He was raised to the rank of a monsignor on January 23, 1976.

On October 7, 1980, Bevilacqua was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn, and titular bishop of "Aquae Albae in Byzaena". He was consecrated to the episcopate on the following November 24 by Bishop Francis Mugavero, with Bishops John Snyder and Charles Mulrooney serving as co-consecrators, in the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. He was named the tenth Bishop of Pittsburgh on October 7, 1983, serving for five years, when he replaced John Krol as Archbishop of Philadelphia on December 8, 1987. Bevilacqua was created Cardinal Priest of "Ss. Redentore e S. Alfonso in Via Merluana" by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of June 28, 1991.

During a fifteen year stewardship of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Bevilacqua is remembered for his frequent visits to churches in the diocese, his knowledge of fiscal matters, his conservatism, and his closing of schools (such as Saint James in Chester). Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Committee, he spoke at a Vigil Mass before the anniversary of "Roe v. Wade" in January 2002:

He especially loved visiting schools and meeting the children of the diocese. Upon his 80th birthday, on June 17, 2003, Bevilacqua became ineligible to vote in a papal conclave, and retired as Archbishop of Philadelphia effective July 15, 2003. He was succeeded by Archbishop Justin Rigali of St. Louis.

In retirement, Cardinal Bevilacqua has lived at his home on the grounds of the archdiocesan seminary, [http://www.scs.edu St. Charles Borromeo] , in suburban Philadelphia.

Episcopal_Succession
date of consecration=November 24 1980
consecrated by=Francis John Mugavero
bishopconsecrated1 = bishopconsecrated1
bishop 1=Nicholas Carmen Dattilo
consecration date 1=January 26 1990
bishopconsecrated2 = bishopconsecrated2
bishop 2=Edward Peter Cullen
consecration date 2=April 14 1994
bishopconsecrated3 = bishopconsecrated3
bishop 3=Robert Patrick Maginnis
consecration date 3=March 11 1996
bishopconsecrated4 = bishopconsecrated4
bishop 4=Joseph Francis Martino
consecration date 4=March 11 1996
bishopconsecrated5 = bishopconsecrated5
bishop 5=Michael Francis Burbidge
consecration date 5=September 5 2002
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External links

* [http://www.dailycatholic.org/issue/99Feb/feb1col.htm Curriculum vitae in "The Daily Catholic"] February 1, 1999

References

*cite book | author=Glenn, Francis A. | title=Shepherds of the Faith 1843-1993: A Brief History of the Bishops of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh | publisher=Pittsburgh: Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh | year=1993 | id=ISBN none