Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, D.D., and the Diocese of Camden wishes to express heartfelt congratulations to Reverend Monsignor James F. Checchio, J.C.D., a priest of the diocese, on the announcement today of his appointment by Pope Francis, as the fifth Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen.
A South Jersey native, Bishop-Elect Checchio, 49, was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden in June of 1992 and served in various roles in the Diocese of Camden. On May 3, 2016, he will be ordained a bishop and formally installed in the Diocese of Metuchen succeeding Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski.
“Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has chosen one of the finest priests I know to serve as the new Bishop of Metuchen. His appointment is truly a blessing for the good people in that community of faith and for the priests of the diocese,” said Bishop Sullivan.
“Monsignor Checchio, a priest of the Diocese of Camden who has served as a parochial vicar, diocesan administrator and for the past ten years as Rector of the Pontifical North American College, is a man of many talents. His love of God, the priesthood, and of the people he serves will sustain him as chief shepherd for the people of the Diocese of Metuchen. On behalf of the priests, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Camden, I express my heartfelt congratulations to Bishop-Elect Checchio as he accepts this new responsibility of service to the Church.”
Born in Camden, N.J., and raised in nearby Collingswood, N.J., he is a 1984 graduate of Paul VI High School in Haddonfield. Bishop-elect Checchio served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from January 2006 to January 2016, after serving as vice rector there for two and a half years. While Bishop-elect Checchio was at the Pontifical North American College, 490 seminarians became priests and he oversaw the largest class sizes the college has seen since the late 1960s, with about 250 men enrolled each year for the past five consecutive years.
Prior to that, he held various roles in the Diocese of Camden. Bishop-elect Checchio served as secretary to Bishop James T. McHugh, vice chancellor, director of communications, moderator of the curia, and episcopal vicar for administration of the diocese. He also served in the Tribunal and as a member of the College of Consultors, Presbyteral Council, Investment Committee and Diocesan Finance Council. He served as parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish, Blackwood, and assisted at St. Jude Parish, Blackwood; and summer parochial vicar at St. Peter Parish, Merchantville, and St. Peter Celestine Parish, Cherry Hill.
Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Camden, Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante, D.D., J.C.D. also extended kind words for the state’s newest bishop. “I wish to offer my congratulations to Bishop-elect Checchio. He has been and continues to be an outstanding priest and dedicated servant of God’s people. His appointment as Bishop of Metuchen is a great opportunity for him to bring his gifts and love of the Church to the people of the Diocese of Metuchen. I have been blessed to see firsthand those gifts and willingness to sacrifice for the good of the Church in all the time that I have known him. My prayers are with him as he begins his new time of service to the Church which he loves and has served so well. May God give him many years of grace.”