Diocese of Camden Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
1999-2003
"The Church of Camden, indeed, is part of the Lord's vineyard, which has produced much fruit by way of vocations and commitment to the Christian life by the laity. I pray that I am up to the task of continuing the good work already done and guiding the Curch into the new millennium"
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was installed as the sixth Bishop of Camden at Saint Agnes Church, Blackwood, NJ on July 22,1999.
With strong ministerial and family ties to New Jersey, the Newark-born prelate began his ministry among migrants in l976---six years after his ordination as a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark on May 30, 1970---as the archdiocese’s refugee resettlement director for nine years, during which time he also served a two-year term as director of the Office of Migration of Newark’s Catholic Community Services.
Father DiMarzio moved to Washington in l985, when he was appointed executive director of Migration and Refugee Services for the U.S. Catholic Conference, and served there for six years. A year after arriving in Washington, he was named a Prelate of Honor by Pope John Paul II.
Upon Msgr. DiMarzio’s return to his home archdiocese in 1991, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick appointed him to be the associate executive director of Catholic Community Services and a year later he advanced to executive director, a position he held for five years. A certified social worker with a doctorate in social work research and policy from Rutgers University, he also held the title of Vicar for Human Services.
In l996, Pope John Paul II elevated him to the rank of Auxiliary Bishop, and from l998 till 2001 he chaired the Migration Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Since then he has served as chairman of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. Inc., and in 2000 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.
Because of his wide-ranging knowledge and experience in matters affecting migrants and immigrants, Bishop DiMarzio has testified frequently before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Appointed the sixth Bishop of Camden June 8, 1999, he undertook several initiatives, including establishing an Office of Ethnic Ministries, an Office of Black Catholic Ministry and an Office of Hispanic Ministry. He also created an apostolate to the Haitian community and founded two missions to serve the Korean and Vietnamese communities.
In his ecumenical and interreligious outreach, significant involvements included presiding at a Catholic-Lutheran prayer service to celebrate the 1999 Joint Declaration of the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation on the Doctrine of Justification and signing an Agreement of Understanding with leaders of the Jewish community in South Jersey.
- Bishop Joseph Galante
- Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
- Bishop James T. McHugh
- Bishop George H. Guilfoyle
- Archbishop Celestine J. Damiano
- Bishop Justin J. McCarthy
- Bishop Bartholomew J. Eustace