Manuel Aurelio Cruz
Manuel Aurelio Cruz (born December 2, 1953) is a Cuban American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who serves as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. He was appointed to the position by Pope Benedict XVI on June 9, 2008.
Manuel Aurelio Cruz | |
|---|---|
| Auxiliary Bishop of Newark Titular Bishop of Gaguari | |
| Archdiocese | Newark |
| Appointed | June 9, 2008 |
| Installed | September 8, 2008 |
| Other posts | Titular Bishop of Gaguari |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 31, 1980 by Peter Leo Gerety |
| Consecration | September 8, 2008 by John Joseph Myers, Peter Leo Gerety, and David Arias Pérez |
| Rank | Titular Bishop of Gaguari |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 2, 1953 Havana, Cuba |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | University professor Prelate |
| Previous post | Vice President of Mission and Ministry for Catholic Health and Human Services Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Care Chaplain of His Holiness Parochial Vicar of Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart Member of the Archdiocesan Vocations Committee Parochial Vicar of Holy Rosary Church, Elizabeth, NJ |
| Alma mater | Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology |
| Motto | Caritas |
| Styles of Manuel Aurelio Cruz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Biography
Manuel Aurelio Cruz was born in Havana, Cuba on December 2, 1953[1] to Juan and Caridad Cruz. He fled to the United States with his parents in 1966 to escape the revolution, living in Florida before settling in Union City, New Jersey. In his youth, he spent eight years as a member of the emergency department staff at Saint James Hospital in Newark. He attended Seton Hall University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Master of Arts in Sacred Scripture. He studied for the priesthood at the Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology.
Cruz was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Newark on May 31, 1980. He was the first Cuban-born priest ordained in the Archdiocese. Following his ordination, Cruz served as parochial vicar at Holy Rosary Parish in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1982, he was appointed a parochial vicar at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey.[2] In 1986, he was appointed to the Archdiocesan Vocations Committee by then Archbishop Theodore Edgar McCarrick. He served as Dean of Deanery from 1991 to 1993. In 2000, Pope John Paul II bestowed upon Cruz the honorary title Chaplain of His Holiness, with the title Monsignor.
Since 1995, Cruz has been a faculty member in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the New Jersey Medical School. In 2005, Archbishop John J. Myers named Cruz vice president for Mission and Ministry for Catholic Health and Human Services. Cruz has served on the Institutional Review Board of various New Jersey hospitals, the ethics committee of Saint Michael's Medical Center, and the New Jersey Catholic Conference's Committee on Ethics.
Auxiliary Bishop of Newark
On June 9, 2008, Cruz was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Newark and Titular Bishop of Gaguari by Pope Benedict XVI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 8 from Archbishop John Myers, with Archbishop Peter Gerety and Bishop David Arias Pérez, OAR, serving as co-consecrators.
Cruz choose a single word for his motto: Caritas. His coat of arms is composed of a shield and a scroll with his motto and external ornamentation. "Caritas," the Latin word for charity, is the mission toward which Cruz has directed his work, especially via his pastoral mission in the healthcare. Cruz’s arms, which occupy the entire shield, are composed of a silver field on which is placed a red Latin cross superimposed by a blue M for Mary. The shield is completed by the external ornamentation of a Catholic bishop, a gold processional cross behind it and a green galero above it with a green cord and tassels hanging from the galero with six tassels flanking either side of the shield.
Incident
On January 29, 2017 during an afternoon service at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, when a Protestant man, who later claimed he was a pastor, approached Cruz while he was praying in the sanctuary and punched him in the face, knocking him on the ground. Police on the scene immediately apprehended the perpetrator. The assailant was identified as Charles Miller, aged 48 and an African-American citizen of Newark. Miller, who had no criminal history prior to the attack, was charged with simple assault by the Essex Sheriff's County. On the other hand, several of Cruz's teeth had reportedly been loosened in the attack, which resulted in 30 stitches on his mouth.
The Mass was being offered for the repose of the soul of the late MLB player Roberto Clemente.[3][4]
See also
- Catholic Church hierarchy
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of Catholic bishops of the United States
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References
- Bishop Manuel Aurelio Cruz
- Baldour
- Thompson, Brian (28 January 2017). "Auxiliary Bishop Punched in Face During NJ Mass: Deputies". New York City: NBC. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- "Newark Bishop Opens Up Following Brutal Attack In The Middle Of Mass". New York City: CBS News. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
External links
Episcopal succession
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by – |
Auxiliary Bishop of Newark 2008-present |
Incumbent |
