Jerome Arthur Pechillo, T.O.R. (May 16, 1919 – January 1, 1991) was an American

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as the

Prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

Coronel Oviedo Coronel Oviedo (), locally simply known as Oviedo, is a city in east-central Paraguay. It is the capital of the Caaguazú Department, about 150 kilometers east of Asunción, and was founded in 1758. The city has a population of about 52,40 ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

from 1961 to 1976, and auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jerse ...

from 1976 to 1991.

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, Pechillo was ordained a priest for the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance on June 10, 1941. He was named the Prelate of Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay on September 10, 1961. Pechillo attended three of the four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

(1962-1965). While remaining prelate of Coronel Oviedo,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo 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 to his death in Augus ...

appointed him as the

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of ''Nova Sparsa'' on October 20, 1965. He was consecrated by Bishop Joseph McCormick of Altoona-Johnstown on January 25, 1966. The principal co-consecrators were Bishop Anthony Mussio of

Steubenville Steubenville is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Ohio River 33 miles west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from Fort Steuben, a 1 ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

Auxiliary Bishop John Boardman. Pope Paul named him the Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, in the U.S., on March 6, 1976. Pechillo continued to serve as an auxiliary bishop until his death at the age of 71 on January 1, 1991.

References

1919 births 1991 deaths People from Brooklyn Roman Catholic missionaries in Paraguay American Roman Catholic missionaries Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Paraguay 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops American expatriates in Paraguay Catholics from New York (state) Roman Catholic bishops of Coronel Oviedo {{US-RC-bishop-stub