Peter Leo Gerety

Born on July 19, 1912, Peter Leo Gerety, who had been acting as apostolic administrator of the diocese since February 1967, was named the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Portland on September 15, 1969. Before being named coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Portland in 1966, Peter Leo Gerety worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture prior to starting his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1939 and then served in various capacities at parishes in Connecticut. During his tenure as Bishop of the Diocese of Portland, Bishop Gerety founded a number of new parishes in the suburbs and metropolitan areas; the first diocesan capital campaign was held to construct the Newman Center in Orono; the Diocesan Human Relations Services (DHRS), which was the precursor to Catholic Charities Maine, became a state-wide agency; and the diocese also opened its first units of low-income elderly housing in Portland and in Waterville. Bishop Gerety oversaw the modernization of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and led a campaign to defend the rights of conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. In 1974, Bishop Gerety was appointed Archbishop of Newark, where he served from 1974 to 1986 before resigning. At the age of 104, Archbishop Gerety was the oldest living Catholic bishop in the United States when he died on September 20, 2016.