5 day forecast
Pope selects Greensburg's Persico as bishop of the Diocese of Erie
Share with others:
Pope Benedict XVI has named Monsignor Lawrence Persico, a longtime official of the Diocese of Greensburg, as bishop of the Diocese of Erie.
Bishop-elect Persico, 61, will succeed Bishop Donald Trautman, 76, who submitted his mandatory letter of resignation when he turned 75.
Bishop-elect Persico is a canon lawyer who has served three bishops of Greensburg in a variety of administrative roles.. He was born in Monessen, where he attended St. Cajetan School before enrolling in St. Joseph Hall Minor Seminary in Greensburg. He attended college at the Seminary of St. Pius X in Erlanger, Ky., then received his master of divinity degree from St. Vincent Seminary near Latrobe. He was ordained in 1977.
Bishop-elect Persico served three years as a parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception parish in Irwin, then earned a degree in canon law at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. After his return to the diocese in 1980, Bishop WIlliam Connare made him assistant chancellor and then vice-chancellor of the diocese, while he also served as chaplain to the Sisters of Charity of Greensburg. In 1998, he also took on duties as pastor of St. James parish, New Alexandria.
Bishop Anthony Bosco promoted him to chancellor in 1989 and also changed his chaplaincy duties to St. Emma Monastery in Greensburg. In 2005 Bishop Lawrence Brandt made him vicar general of the diocese, the highest position below that of bishop. That same year Pope Benedict made him a monsignor and in 2010 he was made a papal knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre,
He has served as vice-president of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference since 2006.
First Published July 31, 2012 6:53 am
