Gerardo Joseph Colacicco (born September 19, 1955) is an

American Catholic The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...

prelate who has served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

for the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...

since 2019. He serves as the episcopal vicar for the northern counties of the archdiocese.

Biography

Early life

Geraldo Colacicco was born on September 19, 1955, in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, the eldest of four children of Angelo and Irma Colacicco. Angelo Colacicco worked for the

US Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

, then became a custodian at St. Mary's Parish in Poughkeepsie. During high school and college, Geraldo Colacicco worked at the St. Mary's rectory. He later identified Reverend Matthew J. Cox from St. Mary's and Reverend Joseph Maria Pernicone from Our Lady of Mount Carmel's Parish in Poughkeepsie as influences on him. Colacicco graduated in 1978 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in history from

Marist College Marist University is a private university in Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Marist was founded by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute, in 1905 to prepare brothers for their ...

in Poughkeepsie, New York, with minors in philosophy and

Russian studies Russian studies is an interdisciplinary field crossing politics of Russia, politics, history of Russia, history, Culture of Russia, culture, economy of Russia, economics, and languages of Russia, languages of Russia and its neighborhood, often gr ...

. He then entered Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York. During his studies at Saint Joseph's, Colacicco served as a transitional deacon at Sacred Heart Parish in

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...

Priesthood

On November 6, 1982, Colacicco was ordained to the priesthood at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan for the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardinal in 1969. Cooke pre ...

. The archdiocese assigned Colacicco as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at the following New York parishes: * Good Shepherd Parish in Rhinebeck (1982 to 1984) * Our Lady of Fatima in Scarsdale (1984 to 1987) * St. Denis in Hopewell Junction (1987 to 1989) In 1989, Cardinal

John O'Connor John O'Connor may refer to: Clergy * John O'Connor (Archdeacon of Emly) ( 1854–1904), Archdeacon of Emly, 1880–1904 * John J. O'Connor (bishop of Newark) (1855–1927), Roman Catholic Bishop of Newark * John O'Connor (priest) (1870–1952), ...

appointed Colacicco as his priest-secretary. Colacicco then traveled to Rome to study at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

, where he received a

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 1992. After returning to New York, the archdiocese placed Colacicco as a judge on the metropolitan tribunal. He was also named as director of pastoral formation at Saint Joseph's Seminary. Colacicco left his diocesan positions to become pastor of Sacred Heart in 1996. He remained at Sacred Heart for 16 years. The Vatican elevated Colacicco to the rank of

prelate of honor of his holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor (typically abbreviated 'Mgr') and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

in 1999. In 2002, he was transferred to the pastorate of St. Columba's Parish in Hopewell Junction. Colacicco also returned to the metropolitan tribunal for another term in 2007. Colacicco left St. Columba in 2014 to become administrator of St. Joseph Parish in Millbrook, New York, which became St. Joseph-Immaculate Conception Parish the next year.

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Colacicco as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York on October 10, 2019. On December 10, 2019, Colacicco was consecrated as a bishop by Cardinal

Timothy Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of New York since 2009 and as a cardinal since 2012. Dolan served as the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ( ...

, with Archbishop Henry J. Mansell and Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Walsh acting as co-consecrators. As auxiliary bishop, Colacicco is the episcopal vicar for the northern counties of the archdiocese which include Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Ulster, and

Sullivan Sullivan may refer to: People Characters * Chloe Sullivan, from the television series ''Smallville'' * Colin Sullivan, a character in the film ''The Departed'', played by Matt Damon * Harry Sullivan (''Doctor Who''), from the British science f ...

counties. In April 2020, as part of the

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

liturgy at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Colacicco gave a meditation on the

seven last words The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings ar ...

said to have been spoken by Jesus from the cross. Due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the service was live-streamed. His reflections were subsequently published in ''Beneath the Cross''. Colacicco is a member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

and is an associate chaplain for the New York State Council of the Knights.

References

External links