Anthony Bevilacqua

Luigi immigrated to the United States in 1910, followed by Maria and their oldest son, Michael.

The family lived in New Rochelle, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; and Brooklyn before settling in Woodhaven, Queens.

Luigi operated a hair dying shop and shoe shine shop in Queens.

Anthony Bevilacqua attended Public School No. 60, St. Thomas the Apostle School, and Richmond Hill High School, all in the Borough of Queens.

He then studied at Cathedral College in Queens, where he won prizes in mathematics and science.

He earned a trip to Washington, D.C. for an essay on the immaculate conception.

Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (June 17, 1923 – January 31, 2012) was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church.

Anthony Bevilacqua was born on June 17, 1923, in Brooklyn, New York, to Luigi (1884–1961) and Maria (née Codella, 1893–1968) Bevilacqua.

Luigi was born in Spinazzola, Italy and worked as a bricklayer.

and Maria was born in Calitri, Italy.

Anthony Bevilacqua had four brothers: Michael, Angelo, Rocco, and Frank; and six sisters, Josephine (died of meningitis at age two), Isabella, Virginia, Mary Jo, Gloria, and Madeline.

Bevilacqua graduated from Cathedral College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943, and then entered the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York.

Bevilacqua was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Thomas Malloy on June 11, 1949, at St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn.

He then served as an associate pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Mary Parish in Brooklyn and St. Mary Parish on Long Island until 1950.

Bevilacqua taught at Cathedral College from 1950 to 1954, and then entered the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

He obtained a Doctor of Canon Law degree summa cum laude from the Gregorian in 1956.

After returning to Brooklyn, Bevilacqua served on the diocesan tribunal and as a chaplain to the Sisters of St. Joseph congregation in Brentwood, New York.

He earned a Master of Political Science degree from Columbia University in 1962, and was named vice-chancellor of the diocese in 1965.

From 1968 to 1980, Bevilacqua was a visiting professor of canon law at Seminary of the Immaculate Conception.

During this time, he also founded the Diocesan Office for Migration and Refugees in 1971.

Bevilacqua earned a J.D. from St. John's University in 1975.

He was admitted to practice law in the courts of New York and Pennsylvania and before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bevilacqua was named by the Holy See as honorary prelate of his holiness on January 23, 1976; he became chancellor of the diocese that year also.

From 1977 to 1980, Bevilacqua taught immigration law as an adjunct professor at St. John's University School of Law.

On October 7, 1980, Bevilacqua was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, and titular bishop of Aquae Albae in Byzacena by Pope John Paul II.

He received his episcopal consecration on November 24, 1980 from Bishop Francis Mugavero, with Bishops John J. Snyder and Charles Mulrooney serving as co-consecrators, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn.

Bevilacqua selected as his episcopal motto: Ecclesia Mater Nostra, meaning, "The Church, our Mother."

In the early 1980s, as chair of the Committee on Canonical Affairs, Bevilacqua led the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) through the first phases of implementing the new 1983 Code of Canon Law, making appropriate adaptations for the United States.

Bevilacqua previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh from 1983 to 1987 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn from 1980 to 1983.

He remained chancellor of the diocese and director of its Migration and Refugee Office until 1983.

In 1983, Bevilacqua became involved in the case of Agnes Mary Mansour.

A member of the Sisters of Mercy religious order in Detroit, Mansour administered the State of Michigan's Medicaid program as the director of the Michigan Department of Social Services.

In 1983, Detroit Archbishop Edmund Szoka asked Mansour to declare her opposition to public financing of abortion procedures, which she refused to do.

The Vatican then sent Bevilacqua to meet with her.

He told Mansour that if she did not resign as director, she would have to leave the Sisters of Mercy.

Mansour chose to keep her job and leave the religious order.

Bevilacqua was named by Pope John Paul II as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh on October 7, 1983.

Succeeding Bishop Vincent Leonard, Bevilacqua was consecrated by Bishop Mugavero on December 12, 1983.

He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 to 2003.

He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991.