Peter Baldacchino
Peter Baldacchino (born December 5, 1960) is a Maltese-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Since July 23, 2019, he has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces in New Mexico. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Miami in Florida from 2014 to 2019.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life and education
- 1.2 Priesthood
- 1.3 Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
- 1.4 Bishop of Las Cruces
- 2 See also
- 3 References
- 4 External links
Biography
Early life and education
Baldacchino was born in Sliema, Malta. He was educated at Mount Carmel College, now Saint Elias College. While he was a student at the University of Malta he became interested in the Neocatechumenal Way. He earned a diploma in sciences from the University of Malta, electrical installation licenses from Umberto Calosso Trade School in Malta, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, New Jersey. Baldacchino attended the 1989 World Youth Day in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
While studying at the Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University, he lived at the Neocatechumenal Way’s Redemptoris Mater Missionary House of Formation in Kearny, New Jersey. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Seton Hall.
Priesthood
Baldacchino was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark on May 25, 1996, by Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. Baldacchino holds dual citizenship in both the United States and Malta.
After his ordination, Baldacchino served as the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Ridgewood, New Jersey, from 1996 to 1999. He was *igned 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 named Baldacchino a chaplain of his holiness, with the *le of monsignor. He is fluent in English, Italian, Maltese, Spanish and Creole.
Auxiliary Bishop of Miami
Pope Francis named Baldacchino as *ular bishop of Vatarba and an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami on February 20, 2014. He was consecrated on March 19, 2014, by Archbishop Thomas Wenski. Archbishops Patrick Pinder and Charles Dufour were the principal co-consecrators.
Bishop of Las Cruces
On May 15, 2019, Pope Francis appointed Baldacchino as bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces. He is the first prelate *ociated with the Neocatechumenal Way to head a diocese in the United States. He was installed on July 23, 2019.
See also
- Catholic Church hierarchy
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of Catholic bishops of the United States
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References
External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Official Site
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Official Site
- Academy of the *umption
- Catholic Health Services
- Florida Catholic
- :Florida portal
- :Catholicism portal
- :Catholicism portal