Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 30, 2025 / 16:23 pm
Pope Leo XIV on Friday appointed Nicaraguan-born Father Pedro Bismarck Chau as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.
The Holy Father also accepted the resignation of 77-year-old Newark Auxiliary Bishop Gregory J. Studerus.
Bishop-elect Chau is a priest of the archdiocese and currently serves as pastor at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, according to a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“I warmly welcome the Holy Father’s appointment of Bishop-elect Pedro Bismarck Chau as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Newark,” Newark archbishop Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin said in a statement.
“His deep faith, considerable pastoral experience, and love for the people of God will be a great blessing to our local Church. I look forward to his contribution as we continue our mission to witness to Jesus Christ,” Tobin said.
Chau was born on July 18, 1964, in Managua, Nicaragua, and is bilingual in English and Spanish.
In 2004, Chau received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He then studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary there and was ordained to the priesthood on May 24, 2008.
After his ordination, Chau worked as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield, New Jersey, assisting the parish priest from 2008–2012.
Chau became very involved in youth programs with the archdiocese, serving as an associate director of the archdiocese’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry and Catholic Youth Organization from 2012–2015.
From 2013–2016, Chau served as the assistant director of vocations for the archdiocese. He also worked as a campus minister at New Jersey Institute of Technology and at the Newman Center at Rutgers University from 2015–2020. During the same time period, he served as pastor at St. John’s Church and St. Patrick Pro-Cathedral.
Chau was appointed to the Priest Personnel Board for the archdiocese in 2017 and served on the board until 2020 when he began his current role as rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
The priest later returned to Seton Hall University to acquire a master’s degree in professional counseling in 2021.
Other ministry work of Chau’s includes serving as the chaplain for the pastoral ministry with the Deaf, working as a professor at Immaculate Conception Seminary, and assisting V Encuentro, an organization that carries out missionary work to benefit the Latino ministry in the United States.
The auxiliary bishop-elect will join auxiliary bishops Manuel A. Cruz, Michael A. Saporito, and Elias R. Lorenzo along with Tobin to serve the estimated 1.04 million Catholics in New Jersey.
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