Craig J. N. de Paulo

The Most Reverend Craig J. N. de Paulo
Primate of the Old Catholic Confederation and Archbishop of the United States
Orders
Ordination	June 23, 2007 by Robert Mikhail Moskal
Consecration	September 14, 2013 by Peter Paul Brennan, Rodney R. Michel, William J. Manseau
Personal details
Born	(1968-01-01) January 1, 1968 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Bishop, philosopher, theologian, professor
Education	Pontificia Universita Gregoriana Katholieke Universiteit Leuven University of Fribourg Villanova University La Salle University

Craig John Neumann de Paulo (born 1968) is an American bishop, philosopher and theologian. He is the current Primate of the Old Catholic Confederation and its archbishop for the United States. He is also the chancellor and Professor of Philosophy and Theology at the Collegium Augustinianum Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Orlando, Florida.^[1][2] He has held professorial appointments at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Fordham University, Temple University, Boston College.^[3]

Ministry

De Paulo is the Primate of the Old Catholic Confederation (OCC), a union of traditional Old Catholic churches, and its Archbishop of the United States.^[4] He was ordained to the diaconate in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on March 24, 2007, and ordained to the priesthood on June 23, 2007, by Eparch Robert Mikhail Moskal.^[5] Later that year, he was installed as pastor in East McKeesport, Pennsylvania.^[6] He later separated from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and was elected a bishop of the OCC on July 21, 2013, and consecrated to the episcopate on September 14, 2013, by Archbishop Peter Paul Brennan.

On December 25, 2013, the Church of the Province of West Africa's archbishop, Solomon Tilewa Johnson, appointed and licensed de Paulo as his episcopal commissary for North America.^[7][8]

Education

De Paulo was born in Philadelphia and attended St. John Neumann High School. He received a B.A. degree from La Salle University in 1989. As an undergraduate, he spent a year at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He received an M.A. degree from Villanova University in 1991, where he studied Augustine and Heidegger.At the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, de Paulo worked with Ignace Verhack and Jos Decorte.^[9] He also worked with Tarcisius van Bavel, O.S.A. at the Augustijns Historisch Instituut. He received a Licentiate in Philosophy in 1994 and a Ph.D. in philosophy in 1995 from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.^[10]

Collegium Augustinianum

As rector (2012–2014) of the Collegium Augustininaum Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology, in Orlando, Florida, de Paulo nominated and conferred honorary degrees upon controversial Catholic theologian Hans Küng, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, S.J., the late Archbishop of Milan and scripture scholar, and Archbishop Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and Anglican theologian.^[11][12] De Paulo has also emphasized the ecumenical nature of the college with the appointment of a retired Episcopal Church bishop, Rodney R. Michel, as chancellor of the institution.

Honors and awards

• Knight of Magistral Grace of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta^[13][14] (Resigned, December 2013)
• Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem^[15] (Resigned, December 2013)
• House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Knight Jure Sanguinis of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George^[16]
• House of Savoy: Knight of the Order of Merit of Savoy^[17]

References