Gerald Michael Barbarito (born January 4, 1950) is an American prelate of the

Roman 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 has served as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach in Florida since 2003. Barbarito previously served as bishop of the

Diocese of Ogdensburg The Diocese of Ogdensburg () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the North Country region of New York State in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archd ...

in Northern New York from 1999 to 2003 and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the State of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, co ...

in New York City from 1994 to 1999.

Biography

Early life and family

Gerald Barbarito, the son of Anna Marie LaPorte Barbarito and Samuel A. Barbarito, was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, on January 4, 1950. He began his studies for the priesthood at Cathedral Prep Seminary in

Fort Greene, Brooklyn Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Dow ...

, graduating in 1967.

Education

Barbarito continued his studies at Cathedral College in Douglaston,

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1971. His theology studies took place at Immaculate Conception Seminary in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

, where he received a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree in 1975. Before his ordination to the priesthood, Barbarito served as a deacon at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

, for one year.

Ordination and pastoral work

Barbarito was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Brooklyn on January 31, 1976. After his 1976 ordination, the diocese assigned Barbarito to St. Helen's Parish in

Howard Beach, Queens Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, Ozone Park, to the south by J ...

, in New York City. He remained there until 1981, when Mugavero appointed him assistant chancellor. Barbarito held this position for one year, then went to 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 ...

School of Canon Law The Catholic University of America School of Canon Law is the only faculty of Catholic canon law in the United States. It is one of the twelve schools at Catholic University of America, located in Washington, D.C.,Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law (; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate is the title of a person who ...

in 1984. After Barbarito returned to New York, he was named the vice chancellor of the diocese in 1984. He remained in that position until 1992, when Bishop

Thomas Vose Daily Thomas Vose Daily (September 23, 1927 – May 14, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York from 1990 to 2003. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Palm ...

appointed him secretary. Barbarito served as master of ceremonies for Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Joseph Peter Michael Denning from 1984 to 1990. Barbarito served on the

college of consultors A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

, the priests' personnel board, the presbyteral council and as an appellate judge at the diocesan tribunal. He also served as a consultant to the Canonical Affairs Committee of the

National Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Co ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

Barbarito was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on June 28, 1994. He was consecrated at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn on August 22, 1994. Bishop Thomas Vose Daily served 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, ...

, with Bishops

Joseph Michael Sullivan Joseph Michael Sullivan (March 23, 1930 – June 7, 2013) was an American priest and later Auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York in the Roman Catholic Church from 1980 to 2005. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Sul ...

and René Arnold Valero serving as co-consecrators. Barbarito was assigned as regional bishop for Brooklyn Vicariate East as well as vicar for ministry for the diocese. As the vicar for ministry, he assisted with the ongoing formation of priests.

Bishop of Ogdensburg

On October 26, 1999, John Paul II named Barbarito as bishop of Ogdensburg. He filled the vacancy left when Bishop

Paul Loverde Paul Stephen Loverde (born September 3, 1940) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Loverde served as bishop of the Latin Diocese of Arlington in Northern Virginia from 1998 to 2016. Loverde previously served as bishop of the Diocese ...

was appointed the Bishop of Arlington nine months prior.

Bishop of Palm Beach

On July 1, 2003, Barbarito was appointed by John Paul II as the fifth bishop of Palm Beach to succeed Bishop

Seán O'Malley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

who had been named archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Boston The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Boston), Cathedral o ...

. Barbarito was installed on August 28, 2003, at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola. In January 2015, Barbarito underwent a successful seven-hour surgery in Miami to remove a benign

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

. In February 2012, Barbarito signed a letter with the other Catholic bishops of Florida asking Florida Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

to stop the execution of Robert Waterhouse, a convicted murderer. Scott allowed Waterhouse to be executed that month. In 2017, Reverend John Gallagher sued the diocese and Barbarito for defamation. Gallagher said that the diocese had posted a statement on its website calling him a liar and stating that he needed professional assistance. Gallagher said that the diocese was retaliating against him for reporting a visiting priest who allegedly showed pornographic pictures to a teenager. Barbarito is a member of the Catholic Biblical Association and the

Canon Law Society of America Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

. Barbarito is the longest serving bishop in the history of the dioceses, having served for over 20 years

Viewpoints

Barbarito considers himself to be a Republican and an opponent of

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

for women.Statement from Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito Regarding Recent Abortion Legislation
/ref>

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbarito, Gerald Michael 1950 births Living people Religious leaders from Brooklyn Catholic University of America alumni Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn Roman Catholic bishops of Ogdensburg Roman Catholic bishops of Palm Beach 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from New York (state) Catholic University of America School of Canon Law alumni