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Theology

Archbishop Gerety Lectures

Most Rev. Peter Leo Gerety, D.D. (1912-2016)

Peter Leo Gerety

Peter Leo Gerety, the first of nine sons of Peter Leo Gerety and Charlotte Ursula Daly Gerety, was born on July 19, 1912 in Shelton, Connecticut. There he attended Commodore Issac Hull School and the Ferry Street School, graduating from Shelton High School in 1929. After working for the United States Department of Agriculture and the New Jersey Transportation Department, he entered St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut in 1932 as a candidate for the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Hartford.

In 1934, he was sent to Paris to complete his studies at the Seminary of St. Sulpice. After ordination in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Father Gerety returned to Connecticut and spent almost twenty-seven years in parish work in New Haven, Connecticut. From 1942 until he was appointed bishop in 1966, his life as a priest was largely devoted to the service of the Black Catholic community of New Haven, developing what eventually became Saint Martin de Porres parish.

In 1966, within a year of the close of the Second Vatican Council, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Portland, Maine, becoming diocesan bishop two years later. In 1974, Bishop Gerety was named Archbishop of Newark, a post he held until his retirement in 1986. Archbishop Gerety entered into eternal life on September 20, 2016 at the age of 104. 

Archbishop Gerety Fund for Ecclesiastical History

Raymond Kupke

The Archbishop Gerety Fund for Ecclesiastical History was established by the Most Reverend Peter Leo Gerety, Archbishop Emeritus of Newark, to advance studies in ecclesiastical history, especially the history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Among its various activities, the Fund sponsors two lectures annually at the beginning of the fall and spring terms. The Fund also sponsors annual awards for excellence in the study of the history of the Church for students of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. In addition, the Fund sponsors awards for monographs on the history of Catholicism in the United States with special emphasis on the history of Catholicism in New Jersey.

The Lecture Series

Gerety Lecture Series Dates
Title Presenter Date
From Immigrant Parish to Intercultural Church: The Ongoing Ecclesial Movement of U.S. Catholicism Reverend Simon C. Kim, Ph.D. 10/4/2017
Reforming a Challenged Church: Six Lessons from Church History Christopher Bellitto, Ph.D. 4/14/2015
Pope Benedict XVI Joseph Ratzinger on Politics Reverend D Vincent Twomey 10/23/2013
'Heaven-pointing' in Newark: The Architecture of the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Context Brian Regan 4/24/2013
The Roman Missal - A Moment in the Church's Liturgical Renewal and Evangelization Reverend Arthur J. Serratelli, S.T.D., S.S.L., D.D. 3/7/2012
The Evangelical Catholic Moment: The Bible, The Eucharist and The New Evangelization Scott Hahn, Ph.D. 10/26/2011
"The New Evangelization and Canon Law" Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, D.D., J.C.D. 3/30/2011
Natural Law, God, and Human Rights Robert P. George, D.Phil. (Oxon.), J.D. 9/22/2010
Providing Shepherds for Soldiers: A History of Catholic Military Chaplaincy in the U.S. Reverend Mark Francis O'Malley, Hist.Eccl.D. 4/21/2010
Chesterton in America Reverend J. Ian Boyd, C.S.B. 12/2/2009
North American Contributions to Catholic Theology Rev. Gerard S. Sloyan, S.T.L., Ph.D. 2/27/2008
Vatican II and New Jersey: Perfect Together Msgr. Raymond Kupke, Ph.D. 10/24/2007
Immaculate Conception Seminary: From 1860 to Today, From Bayley to Myers, From McQuade to Coleman Msgr. Robert J. Wister, Hist.Eccl.D. 3/14/2007
Monks and the City: A Unique New Experience Augustine J. Curley, O.S.B. 11/15/2006
The Popes and the Order of Culture: Leo XIII to Benedict XVI Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. 1/26/2006
Queen of Angels: An Example of Evangelization in the African-American Community M. Ward, Ph.D. 11/12/2003
Asian Catholics: Challenges and Opportunities for the Catholic Church in the United States Peter C. Phan  
Catholicism in American Society At The Dawn of the 21st Century Scott Appleby 3/1/2000
A Mass Murderer Repents: The Case of Rudolf Hoess, Commandant of Auschwitz John Jay Hughes 3/25/1998
Trent and All That: Fifty Years Trying to Name It John O'Malley 3/25/1998
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: Roman Catholic Liturgical Music in the United States Since Vatican II Fr. Jan Michael Joncas 10/17/1997
Newman's Idea in the Minds of American Educators Philip Gleason 2/5/1997
Pope John Paul II and the Role of World Religions in Politics Robin Wright 9/25/1995
Making Sense of Ambivalence: The American Catholic Laity Since Vatican II David O'Brien, Ph.D. 10/14/1993
A Marginal Jew: Retrospect and Prospect John P. Meier 2/18/1993
A Century of Papal Representation in the United States Rev. Timothy M. Dolan Kenrick 10/15/1992
Urban Pastoral Care of African-American Catholics Rev. Cyprian Davis, O.S.B. 10/10/1992
Christopher Columbus and American Catholic Identity: 1880-1900 Christopher Kauffman, Ph.D. 2/20/1992
History, the Concept of Tradition and Theology James Hennessey, S.J. 10/4/1990
Newman and the Idea of Lay Movements Ian Ker 1/1990
The American Catholic Future: Creative Ways to End a Millennium Martin E. Marty 10/1989
Bishop John Carroll and Women Margaret Reher, Ph.D. 1/30/1989
Russia's Greatest Heretic Jaroslav Pelikan, Ph.D. 9/26/1988
"Are They Not Men?" Las Casas and the Pro-Indian Movement in the Sixteenth Century Rev. Stafford Poole, C.M. 12/8/1987
This Curious Thing: African-American Catholic Liturgical Development Most Rev. Wilton P. Gregory, D.S.L. 11/4/1987
The Catholic Church And Her Universities: A View from History Msgr. John Tracy Ellis 11/3/1986