Celestine Damiano (original) (raw)

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American prelate

Celestine Joseph Damiano (November 1, 1911 – October 2, 1967) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as apostolic delegate to South Africa (1953–1960) and as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey (1960–1967).

The oldest of six children, Celestine Damiano was born in 1911 in Dunkirk, New York, to Vito and Stella (née Zaccari) Damiano, both Italian immigrants.[1] Receiving his early education at public schools in Dunkirk, he studied at St. Michael's College in Toronto, Ontario, for two years. Damiano then entered the Urban College of the Propaganda in Rome, where he studied philosophy and theology.[1]

Damiano was ordained to the priesthood in Rome for the Diocese of Buffalo on December 21, 1935, by Archbishop Giuseppe Palica.[2] After Damiano returned to Buffalo, the diocese assigned him to pastoral postings at parishes in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York. In 1947, he went back to Rome to serve as an official of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.[3][4]

Apostolic delegate to South Africa

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On November 27, 1952, Damiano was appointed apostolic delegate to South Africa and titular archbishop of Nicopolis in Epiro by Pope Pius XII.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on February 11, 1953, from Bishop Joseph A. Burke, with Archbishop John O'Hara and Bishop Leo Smith serving as co-consecrators, at Saint Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo.[4][2]

While in South Africa, Damiano was highly influential in changing the face of the local church in South Africa, becoming a vocal opponent of the South African Government's apartheid policies.[3]

Archbishop of Camden

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Following the death of Bishop Justin J. McCarthy in December 1959, Pope John XXIII appointed Damiano as the third bishop of Camden (with the personal title of archbishop) on January 24, 1960. He was installed at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden on May 3, 1960.[2]

In September 1960, Damiano launched a drive to raise $5 million for the construction and improvement of Catholic secondary schools in the diocese.[1] He established the following high schools in New Jersey:

• Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill
• Holy Spirit High School in Absecon
• Paul VI High School in Haddonfield

Damiano also opened 17 new elementary schools in the diocese, with total enrollment for all schools increasing by more than 3,000. He also founded a diocesan school board in 1965, and greatly expanded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine program for children.[1]

Concerned with the welfare of the 25,000 Catholic Puerto Ricans living in his diocese, Damiano established the Spanish Catholic Center at Vineland in 1962.[3] Damiano initiated the diocese's Brazil mission project in 1961, and the House of Charity Appeal for funding diocesan human services in 1964.[3] He was a member of the Central Preparatory Commission in Rome and attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). He delivered the invocation for the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[4]

In 1966, Damiano established a new rule allow interracial weddings in diocesan churches without permission from the diocese. Previously, these couples were married only in church rectories.[4]

On October 2, 1967, while recuperating from gall bladder surgery, Damiano died at age 55 from a thrombus at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden.[1]

1. ^ a b c d e "Previous Bishops". Blessed Pope John XXIII Parish. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08.
2. ^ a b c d "Archbishop Celestine Joseph Damiano [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
3. ^ a b c d "Archbishop Celestine Damiano". Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden.
4. ^ a b c d "Celestine Damiano Dies at 55; Archbishop-Bishop of Camden". The New York Times. 1967-10-03. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-07.