Frank Joseph Rodimer (October 25, 1927 – December 6, 2018) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey from 1977 to 2004.

Biography

Early life

Frank Rodimer was born on October 25, 1927, in Rockaway,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He graduated from

Seton Hall Preparatory School Seton Hall Preparatory School, generally called Seton Hall Prep, SHP, or "The Prep", is a Roman Catholic all boys' high school located in the suburban community of West Orange in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating under ...

, then attended St. Charles College in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...

, and St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland.

Priesthood

Rodimer was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Paterson on May 19, 1951. He studied at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, obtaining his

licentiate in theology Licentiate may refer to: * Licentiate (degree), a degree below a PhD granted by universities in some countries; may indicate a medical doctor qualification in the UK and other countries. * Licentiate (Pontifical Degree), second cycle of ecclesiast ...

in 1951. He also received a

doctorate in canon law Doctor of Canon Law (, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD or dr.iur.can. (''Iuris Can ...

in 1954 for a thesis entitled ''The Canonical Effects of Infamy of Fact: A Historical Synopsis and Commentary,'' published by the

Catholic University of America Press The Catholic University of America Press, also known as CUA Press, is the publishing division of The Catholic University of America. Founded on November 14, 1939 and incorporated on July 16, 1941, the CUA Press is a long-time member of the Associ ...

. In June 1954, Rodimer returned to New Jersey and was appointed assistant

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the diocese and secretary of the diocesan Tribunal. During this time, he served as assistant pastor to St. Brendan's Parish in

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area.L ...

. Rodimer was appointed first diocesan director of sacred liturgy. He was named priest-secretary of Bishop James J. Navagh and attended the sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

as Navagh's principal aide. In December 1964, he was appointed secretary of the diocesan College of Consultors. As priest-secretary, Rodimer was in Rome when Bishop Navagh died there in October 1965, and was responsible for returning to New Jersey with the body of the bishop for burial services. Under his predecessor Bishop Lawrence B. Casey, Rodimer served as administrator of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in

Sparta, New Jersey Sparta is a township in Sussex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 19,600, a decrease of 122 (−0.6%) from the 2010 census count of 19,722, which in turn reflected an in ...

, from April 1967 to January 1968, at which time he became pastor of St. Paul's Parish in Clifton. He also served as the diocesan chancellor, and in that capacity, was elected

diocesan administrator A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic partic ...

by the College of Consultors upon Casey's death in June 1977.

Bishop of Paterson

On December 5, 1977,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

appointed Rodimer the sixth bishop of the Diocese Paterson, the first native-born bishop in the diocese. He was consecrated bishop on February 28, 1978, with Archbishop

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety is an American actor. He played officer, later detective, Stuart Gharty on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1996–1999), and Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Early years Gerety was born in Providence, Rhode I ...

as principal

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

, and Archbishops

Joseph Bernardin Joseph Louis Bernardin (April 2, 1928 – November 14, 1996) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 until 1982, and as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death from pancreatic cancer. B ...

and Peter Poreku Dery serving as co-consecrators. As bishop, Rodimer wrote a weekly column for the diocesan newspaper, ''The Beacon''. He also established a $7 million diocesan endowment to support Catholic schools, parishes and other diocesan ministries through fund raising. With corporate leaders, Rodimer established the Tri-County Scholarship fund to provide scholarships to needy students attending Catholic schools."Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, JCD, DD", Diocese of Paterson
/ref> During his tenure, Rodimer made public his opposition to

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

and to permanent replacements for striking workers.The Catholic Advocate
Bishop Serratelli to be seventh head of Paterson Diocese
June 16, 2004 Although he once declared, "I fear for a society which deplores but does little or nothing to address the horrible daily realities which many of our children face", Rodimer admitted his "own inadequacy" in failing to prevent at least four of his clerical colleagues, with whom he shared a

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

beach house, from committing

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

Retirement and legacy

Rodimer retired as Bishop on June 1, 2004, after twenty-six years of service. A 2020 report revealed that a Diocese of Paterson priest had informed Rodimer in the late 1980s of allegations that former Cardinal

Theodore McCarrick Theodore Edgar McCarrick (July 7, 1930 – April 3, 2025) was an American Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal who was Archbishop of Newark from 1986 to 2000 and Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006. In 2019, McCarrick was defrocked by Po ...

had sexually abused boys at his beach house and that Rodimer had responded that he would contact U.S. representatives of the Vatican. Frank Rodimer died on December 6, 2018, at his residence in St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in

Totowa, New Jersey Totowa (pronounced "TO-tuh-wuh" ) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,065, an increase of 261 (+ ...

, aged 91.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson Official SiteUSCCB - Press Release

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodimer, Frank Joseph 1927 births 2018 deaths People from Rockaway, New Jersey Catholic University of America alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Paterson 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Seton Hall Preparatory School alumni