Charles Pasquale Greco


Charles Pasquale Greco
Bishop of Alexandria in Louisiana
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
DioceseAlexandria in Louisiana
In office1946 to 1973
PredecessorDaniel Francis Desmond
SuccessorLawrence Preston Joseph Graves
Orders
OrdinationJuly 25, 1918
by John Shaw
ConsecrationFebruary 25, 1947
by Joseph Rummel
Personal details
Born(1894-10-29)October 29, 1894
DiedJanuary 20, 1987(1987-01-20) (aged 92)
EducationSt. Joseph Seminary
American College at Louvain
MottoVivat Jesus
(Jesus lives)

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

Biography

Early life

Charles Greco was born on October 29, 1894, in Rodney, Mississippi, to Italian immigrants, Frank and Carmela (née Testa) Greco.[1][2] 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.[1][2]

Greco was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New Orleans by Archbishop John Shaw on July 25, 1918.[3] Greco served as vicar general of the archdiocese and pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in New Orleans.[1]

Bishop of Alexandria

On January 15, 1946, Greco was appointed the sixth bishop of Alexandria by Pope Pius XII.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on February 25, 1946, from Archbishop Joseph Rummel, with Bishops Richard Gerow and Thomas Toolen serving as co-consecrators.[3]

During his tenure, Greco established 33 parishes, over 125 churches and chapels, 100 convents and rectories, and sevem health-care facilities.[4] 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.[4][2]He was named supreme chaplain of the national Knights of Columbus in 1961.[5]

He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome between 1962 and 1965.[3]

Retirement and legacy

On May 10, 1973, Pope Paul VI accepted Greco's resignation as bishop of Alexandria.[3] Charles Greco died in Alexandria on January 20, 1987, at age 92.[3] Greco is honored with a statue of himself standing between two children at St. Mary's Residential Training School in Alexandria.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Curtis, Georgina Pell (1961). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
  2. ^ a b c "Bishop Charles P. Greco" (PDF). Louisiana Ladies Auxiliary Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Bishop Charles Pasquale Greco [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
  4. ^ a b "Bishop Charles P. Greco". Knights of Columbus Assembly 2161. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "St. Mary's Residential Training School History". stmarys-rts.org. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.