Charles Pasquale Greco

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type =

| honorific_prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend

| name = Charles Pasquale Greco

| honorific_suffix =

| title = Bishop of Alexandria in Louisiana

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| church = Roman Catholic Church

| archdiocese =

| diocese =Alexandria in Louisiana

| see =

| elected =

| term =

| predecessor = Daniel Francis Desmond

| successor = Lawrence Preston Joseph Graves

| other_post =

| ordination = July 25, 1918

| ordained_by = John Shaw

| consecration = February 25, 1947

| consecrated_by = Joseph Rummel

| birth_date = {{birth date|1894|10|29}}

| birth_place = Rodney, Mississippi, US

| death_date = {{death date and age|1987|01|20|1894|10|29}}

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| education = St. Joseph Seminary
American College at Louvain

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}}

Charles Pasquale Greco (October 29, 1894 – January 20, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana from 1946 to 1973.

Greco also served as the supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus from 1961 to 1987.{{cite web | url = http://www.llaa.us/Bishop%20Charles%20P%20Greco%20Biography.pdf | title = Bishop Charles P. Greco | publisher = Louisiana Ladies Auxiliary Association | access-date = March 4, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150927055201/http://www.llaa.us/Bishop%20Charles%20P%20Greco%20Biography.pdf | archive-date = September 27, 2015 | url-status = dead }}{{cite book |last=Kauffman |first=Christopher J. |url=https://archive.org/details/faithfraternalis00kauf/page/394 |title=Faith and Fraternalism: The History of the Knights of Columbus, 1882–1982 |publisher=Harper and Row |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-06-014940-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/faithfraternalis00kauf/page/394 394] |url-access=registration}}

Biography

= Early life =

Charles Greco was born on October 29, 1894, in Rodney, Mississippi, to Italian immigrants, Frank and Carmela (née Testa) Greco.{{cite book|last=Curtis|first=Georgina Pell|title=The American Catholic Who's Who|volume=XIV|year=1961|publisher=Walter Romig|location=Grosse Pointe, Michigan}}[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82985086/charles-paschal-greco Find a Grave]. He attended St. Joseph Seminary in Covington, Louisiana, before studying at the American College at Louvain in Belgium and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Greco was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New Orleans by Archbishop John Shaw on July 25, 1918.{{cite news|work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|title=Bishop Charles Pasquale Greco|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgreco.html}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2015}} Greco served as vicar general of the archdiocese and pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in New Orleans.

= Bishop of Alexandria =

On January 15, 1946, Greco was appointed the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on February 25, 1946, from Archbishop Joseph Rummel, with Bishops Richard Gerow and Thomas Toolen serving as co-consecrators.

During his tenure, Greco established 33 parishes, over 125 churches and chapels, 100 convents and rectories, and 7 health-care facilities.{{cite news|work=Knights of Columbus Assembly 2161|title=Bishop Charles P. Greco|url=http://www.knightsite.org/sk2161/bishopgreco.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513191410/http://www.knightsite.org/sk2161/bishopgreco.html|archive-date=2008-05-13}} In 1954, he also founded St. Mary's Residential Training School in Clarks, Louisiana, and Holy Angels Residential Facility for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in Rome between 1962 and 1965. Greco was also the supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.

= Retirement and legacy =

On May 10, 1973, Pope Paul VI accepted Greco's resignation as bishop of Alexandria. Charles Greco died on January 20, 1987, at age 92. Greco is honored with a statue of himself standing between two children at St. Mary's Residential Training School in Alexandria.{{cite web|url=http://www.stmarys-rts.org/history-of-st-marys-residential-training-school/ |title=St. Mary's Residential Training School History |publisher=stmarys-rts.org |access-date=June 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714204108/http://www.stmarys-rts.org/history-of-st-marys-residential-training-school/ |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}