James F. Checchio Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:His Excellency, The Most Reverend
James Francis Checchio
Bishop of Metuchen
Church:Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese:Newark
Diocese:Metuchen
Appointed:March 8, 2016
Enthroned:May 3, 2016
Predecessor:Paul Bootkoski
Ordination:June 20, 1992
Ordained By:James T. McHugh
Consecration:May 3, 2016
Consecrated By:John Myers, Paul Gregory Bootkoski, Dennis Joseph Sullivan
Birth Date:1966 4, mf=yes
Birth Place:Camden, New Jersey, US
Motto:Reconciliamini Deo
(Be reconciled to God)
James Francis Checchio
Dipstyle:

James Francis Checchio (born April 21, 1966, in Camden, New Jersey) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic church. Checchio served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2005 until 2016. On March 8, 2016, Pope Francis named Checchio as bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey.

Biography

Early life

James Checchio was born on April 21, 1966, in Camden, New Jersey to James and Helen Checchio. He attended St. John School in Collingwood, New Jersey, then Paul VI High School in Haddon Township, New Jersey. After his high school graduation in 1984, Cheechio entered the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1988.[1]

Deciding to become a priest, Checcio traveled to Rome to study at the seminary at the Pontifical North American College while studying at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He received a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1993.[2]

Priesthood

Checchio was ordained a priest by Bishop James McHugh for the Diocese of Camden on June 20, 1992, at the Cathedral of the immaculate Conception in Camden.[3] After his 1992 ordination, the diocese assigned Cheechio to the following positions in New Jersey parishes:

In 1997, McHugh named Cheechio as his priest secretary. At the same time, he served as defender of the bond, assistant director of the Office of Public Relations and Communications and vice chancellor. In 1999, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio appointed Cheechio as his priest-secretary along with moderator of the curia.

In 2000, Checchio was appointed a chaplain of his holiness by Pope John Paul II.The next year, he was named as administrator of Holy Spirit Parish in Atlantic City, New Jersey and in 2004 was made episcopal vicar for administration. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia.[4]

Vice Rector and Rector of the North American College

Checchio left Camden for Rome in 2004 after being named as vice rector for administration at the Pontifical North American College. On December 12, 2005, the oversight board for the college appointed him as rector. He would serve in this position for the next five years. Checchio was elevated to the rank of honorary prelate by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

Bishop of Metuchen

On March 8, 2016, Checchio was appointed by Pope Francis to succeed to Bishop Paul Bootkoski as the fifth bishop of Metuchen.[5] Checchio’s episcopal consecration took place on May 3, 2016, at the Church of the Sacred Heart in South Plainfield, New Jersey. The principal consecrator was Archbishop John J. Myers; the co-consecrators were Bootkoski and Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan.[6]

Checchio in August 2018 said that he was "saddened and ashamed" by the reports of child sexual abuse by Theodore McCarrick, a former bishop of Metuchen. Checchio referred to McCarrick's acts as atrocities.[7] The Vatican laicized McCarrick in February 2019.[8]

In 2021, Cheechio condemned the abuse of inmates at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey, by some correctional officers.[9]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Office of the Bishop - Most Rev. James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA . 2024-03-13 . Diocese of Metuchen . en.
  2. Web site: Pope Names Msgr. James Checchio Bishop of Metuchen, Accepts Resignation of Bishop Bootkoski . 2024-03-13 . US Conference of Catholic Bishops . en.
  3. Web site: Bishop James Francis Checchio [Catholic-Hierarchy] ]. 2024-03-13 . www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  4. Web site: Wooden . Cindy . Camden, N.J., priest named rector of U.S. seminary in Rome . March 14, 2024 . Catholic News Service.
  5. Rinunce e nomine, 08.03.2016 . Holy See Press Office . Italian . Bollettino . March 8, 2016 . March 8, 2016.
  6. Book: The Ordination and Installation of the Most Reverend James Francis Checchio . Diocese of Metuchen . May 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160509012445/http://diometuchen.org/assets/Uploads/Documents/Bishop/May3WorshipBooklet.pdf . May 9, 2016 . dead.
  7. Web site: 2018-08-10 . Metuchen bishop ‘saddened and ashamed’ by Archbishop McCarrick case . 2024-03-14 . Crux . en.
  8. News: Harlan . Chico . February 16, 2019 . Ex-cardinal McCarrick defrocked by Vatican for sexual abuse . February 16, 2019 . Washington Post.
  9. Web site: Cheechio . James . 2021-02-21 . Metuchen Bishop decries the abuse at Edna Mahan Opinion . 2024-03-14 . Star-Ledger . en.