Charles Pasquale Greco

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Charles Pasquale Greco
His Excellency, The Most Reverend; Charles Pasquale Greco
Bishop of Alexandria in Louisiana
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Diocese	Alexandria in Louisiana
Predecessor	Daniel Francis Desmond
Successor	Lawrence Preston Joseph Graves
Orders
Ordination	July 25, 1918; by John Shaw
Consecration	February 25, 1947; by Joseph Rummel
Personal details
Born	October 29, 1894; Rodney, Mississippi, US
Died	January 20, 1987 (aged 92)
Education	St. Joseph Seminary; American College at Louvain

Charles Pasquale Greco (October 29, 1894 – January 20, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1946 to 1973.

Greco also served as the supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus from 1961 to 1987.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Early life

Charles Greco was born on October 29, 1894, in Rodney, Mississippi, to Italian immigrants, Frank and Carmela (née Testa) Greco.^[3] ^[4] He attended St. Joseph Seminary in Covington, Louisiana, before studying at the American College at Louvain in Belgium and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.^[3]

Greco was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New Orleans by Archbishop John Shaw on July 25, 1918.^[5] Greco served as vicar general of the archdiocese and pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in New Orleans.^[3]

Bishop of Alexandria

On January 15, 1946, Greco was appointed the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria by Pope Pius XII.^[5] He received his episcopal consecration on February 25, 1946, from Archbishop Joseph Rummel, with Bishops Richard Gerow and Thomas Toolen serving as co-consecrators.^[5]

During his tenure, Greco established 33 parishes, over 125 churches and chapels, 100 convents and rectories, and 7 health-care facilities.^[6] In 1954, he also founded St. Mary's Residential Training School in Clarks, Louisiana, and Holy Angels Residential Facility for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Shreveport, Louisiana.^[6] He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome between 1962 and 1965. Greco was also the supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.

Retirement and legacy

On May 10, 1973, Pope Paul VI accepted Greco's resignation as bishop of Alexandria.^[5] Charles Greco died on January 20, 1987, at age 92. Greco is honored with a statue of himself standing between two children at St. Mary's Residential Training School in Alexandria.^[7]

References

^ "Bishop Charles P. Greco" (PDF). Louisiana Ladies Auxiliary Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
^ Kauffman, Christopher J. (1982). Faith and Fraternalism: The History of the Knights of Columbus, 1882–1982. Harper and Row. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-06-014940-6.
^ ^a ^b ^c Curtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
^ Find a Grave.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Bishop Charles Pasquale Greco". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.^{[self-published source]}
^ ^a ^b "Bishop Charles P. Greco". Knights of Columbus Assembly 2161. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13.
^ "St. Mary's Residential Training School History". stmarys-rts.org. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.