Diocese of Camden Bishop Joseph Galante
2004-present
"When I became a bishop I chose as my motto Have the mind of Jesus. This remains my goal and my desire for myself as well as for all of us. I invite all of you to join with me in coming to know
Jesus more intimately, to love Jesus more ardently, and to live Jesus more totally.
I eagerly look forward to coming to know and to collaborate with the laity, religious and clergy of
our Diocese."
The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, on March 23, 2004 appointed Most. Rev. Joseph A. Galante as the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Camden. He was installed Friday, April 30, 2004 at Saint Agnes Church, Blackwood, NJ.
Bishop Joseph A. Galante was born on July 2, 1938 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania to Edith and Leonard Galante. He is the oldest of four sons.
After a parochial elementary education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
he entered St. Charles Seminary, Philadelphia, PA. then attended Lateran
University in Rome, Italy, and University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in
Rome, Italy.
After various assignments he was named Titular Bishop of Equilium
and Auxiliary of San Antonio, Texas on October, 1992. In May, 1994 he was
installed as Bishop of Beaumont, Texas. He became Coadjutor Bishop of
Dallas, Texas on January 14, 2000.
Among his many assignments, he was sent for graduate studies in
Rome in 1965 where he earned a Doctorate in Canon Law. Returning to the
United States in July, 1968. Then Father Galante was loaned to the Diocese of
Brownsville, Texas. Returning to Philadelphia in 1972, he served in the Office
of Vicar for Religious until, in December, 1986 he was named by Pope John
Paul II Undersecretary of the Congregation for Religious in Rome.
Bishop Galante seeks and works that all Catholics may grow in their
relationship with Jesus so they may more fully understand that as Church we
are the Body of Jesus, His people intimately united to Him and to one another
through Baptism.
Bishop Galante, who was appointed March 23 by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, succeeds
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio who was installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn on October
3, 2003. Monsignor Thomas J. Morgan, pastor of St. Thomas More, Cherry Hill, and Vicar
General for the diocese, served as Apostolic Administrator during the interim until the
appointment of Bishop Galante on March 23.
Bishop Galante, 65, had served since 2000 as Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas. From
1994-1999 he was Bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont, TX. He was named Titular Bishop of
Equilium and Auxiliary of San Antonio in 1992.
A Philadelphia native, Bishop Galante was ordained a priest May 16, 1964 for the Archdiocese
of Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, he served in three parishes and held various
Archdiocesan positions, including Vicar for Religious, Defender of the Bond (Tribunal), and
Professor of Canon Law (St. Charles Borromeo and Mary Immaculate Seminaries).
From 1968 to 1972 he served in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas in various capacities, including Vicar for Religious. From 1987 to 1992 he was Undersecretary for the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in Rome.
He holds a Doctorate in Canon Law (1968, Lateran University, Rome) and a Master of Arts in
Spiritual Theology (1991, University of St. Thomas, Angelicum, Rome).
Bishop Galante serves on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on
Communications, Committee on Canon Law, Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse and the Ad
Hoc Committee on Economic Concerns of the Holy See. Previously, Bishop Galante was Chair
of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Communications and Chair of the U.S. bishops’ Religious
Life Committee, as well as committees on Science and Human Values and African American Catholics.
Bishop's Curriculum Vitae >>>
- 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