The world’s oldest Catholic bishop has died at 104. The Reverend Peter Gerety was the Archbishop of New Jersey. Gerety was born in Connecticut, and he was ordained in Hartford in 1939.
Gerety started his service as a priest who ministered to the city’s black community. He focused a lot of his energy on civil rights. He founded an interracial social and religious center in Hartford – he also founded the New Haven chapter of the Urban League.
In the 1960s, Gerety called for grocery stores in New England to boycott California grapes to support workers during a farm labor strike. He also defended conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War.
Gerety left Hartford to serve as the Bishop of Portland, Maine, in 1969. He served for 12 years as the Archbishop of New Jersey, then he retired in 1986. Gerety was the oldest of nine brothers, all of whom died before him. He is survived by his many nieces and nephews.
