Peter Baldacchino (born December 5, 1960) is a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

-born American

Catholic 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 ...

prelate who has served as Bishop of Las Cruces since 2019. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the

Archdiocese of Miami The Archdiocese of Miami (, , ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in South Florida in the United States. It is the metropolitan see for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, which ...

Early life and education

Peter Baldacchino was born on December 5, 1960, in

Sliema Sliema ( ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. He was educated at Mount Carmel College, now Saint Elias College. While he was a student at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association, ...

, he became interested in the

Neocatechumenal Way The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, or NCW is a program in the Catholic Church. It is inspired by the catechumenate of the early Catholic Church where converts from paganism were prepared for baptism through a process ...

, a Catholic formation movement. He earned a diploma in sciences from the University of Malta and several electrical installation licenses from the Umberto Calosso Trade School in Malta. After his graduation, Baldacchino worked for several years as technical manager at a

Canada Dry Canada Dry () is a Canadian-American brand of soft drinks founded in Toronto, Ontario, in 1904, and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple (now Keurig Dr Pepper). For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its g ...

bottling plant in Malta. Baldacchino did not consider the priesthood until he attended the 1989

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

Santiago de Compostela, Spain Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral ...

.He later decided to move to the United States to attend the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, that was operated by the Neocatechumenal Way. Baldacchino received Bachelor of Arts degree from

Thomas Edison State College Thomas Edison State University (TESU) is a public university in Trenton, New Jersey, United States. The university is one of New Jersey's 11 senior public institutions of higher education. Thomas Edison State University offers degrees at the und ...

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

. While studying at the

Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology The Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology (ICSST) is the major seminary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark and is part of Seton Hall University, a Roman Catholic university located in South Orange, New Jersey. History ICSST ...

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

in South Orange, New Jersey, he lived at the Neocatechumenal Way's Redemptoris Mater Missionary House of Formation in

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 41,999, an increase of 1,315 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

. Baldacchino 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 from Seton Hall.

Career

Priesthood

Baldacchino was ordained a priest for the

Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The mother church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Hea ...

at the

Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Headed by Cardinal Tobin for the archdiocese, it is located in the Lower Broadway neighborhood of ...

in Newark on May 25, 1996, by Archbishop

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 ...

. After his ordination, Baldacchino served as the

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 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

, from 1996 to 1999. He was assigned as the chancellor of the Mission Sui Iuris of Turks and Caicos in 1999. In 2002 he became the pastor of Our Lady of Providence Parish on Providenciales Island of Turks and Caicos

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named Baldacchino a

chaplain of his holiness Chaplain of His Holiness is a title of distinction given by the Pope in recognition of a priest's service to the Church. They are addressed with the honorific of "Monsignor" and have certain privileges with respect to ecclesiastical dress and ve ...

, with the title of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

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 ...

named Baldacchino as

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 an ...

of Vatarba and an auxiliary bishop of Miami on February 20, 2014. He was consecrated on March 19, 2014, by Archbishop

Thomas Wenski Thomas Gerard Wenski (born October 18, 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 Ch ...

. Archbishops

Patrick Pinder Patrick Christopher Pinder, CMG, KCHS, (born November 1, 1953) is a Bahamian Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Nassau since 2004. Biography Pinder was born in Nassau and was baptized at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral and grew up ...

and

Charles Dufour Charles Henry Dufour, Jr, CD (born 25 April 1940) is Archbishop emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston in Jamaica, having served from 2011 to 2016. Life until Priesthood Dufour was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to Charles Sr and Mavis; ...

were the principal co-consecrators.

Bishop of Las Cruces

On May 15, 2019, Pope Francis appointed Baldacchino as bishop of Las Cruces. He became the first prelate associated with the Neocatechumenal Way to head a diocese in the United States. He was installed on July 23, 2019. Baldacchino holds dual citizenship in the United States and Malta. He is fluent in English, Italian,

, Spanish and Creole.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Official Site

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldacchino, Peter 1960 births Living people People from Sliema University of Malta alumni Thomas Edison State University alumni Seton Hall University alumni Maltese expatriates in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Neocatechumenal Way Bishops appointed by Pope Francis Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre