Lawrence Michael De Falco
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Lawrence Michael DeFalco (August 25, 1915 – September 22, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Amarillo from 1963 to 1979.
Biography[edit]
The eldest of nine children, Lawrence DeFalco was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to Rosario and Margret (née Desmone) DeFalco.[1] His father was originally from Atena Lucana, Italy and worked as a streetcar company foreman.[1] He entered St. Vincent's College at Latrobe in 1933.[2] However, he was forced to enter St. John's Home Mission Seminary at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1935, because the Diocese of Pittsburgh to the Great Depression.[2] He was ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1942.[3]
DeFalco then served as a curate at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Fort Worth, Texas, until 1952, when he became vice-chancellor of the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth.[1] He briefly served as a curate at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Dallas before being sent in 1953 to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, from where he obtained a Licentiate of Canon Law.[1] Following his return to Dallas in 1955, he became secretary of the diocesan marriage tribunal.[1] He served as the founding pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Dallas from 1956 to 1962.[1] He was named a Papal Chamberlain in 1961, and rector of St. Patrick Cathedral at Fort Worth in 1962.[1]
On April 16, 1963, DeFalco was appointed fifth Bishop of Amarillo by Pope John XXIII.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 30 from Bishop Thomas Kiely Gorman, with Bishops Francis Joseph Green and Albert Lewis Fletcher serving as co-consecrators, at St. Patrick Cathedral.[3] He was installed at Sacred Heart Cathedral on June 13, 1963.[3] Between 1963 and 1965, he attended three sessions of the Second Vatican Council. During his 16-year-long tenure, he worked to implement the Council's reforms, establishing pastoral councils and senates of priests, of nuns, and of deacons.[1] He also reduced diocesan debt, but was forced to close several schools and hospitals.[1] St. Laurence Church in Amarillo replaced Sacred Heart as the diocesan cathedral in 1975.[4]
After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, DeFalco resigned as Bishop of Amarillo on August 28, 1979.[3] He died a month later at age 64. He is buried at Llano Cemetery in Amarillo.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "DEFALCO, LAWRENCE MICHAEL (1915-1979)". The Handbook of Texas Online.
- ^ a b "History". Bishop DeFalco Retreat Center.
- ^ a b c d e "Bishop Lawrence Michael De Falco". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
- ^ Albracht, Chris. "St. Laurence Cathedral—History". Diocese of Amarillo. Archived from the original on 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
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