Bishop Elias R. Lorenzo, O.S.B.,
Fidelity of Faith Award
A Benedictine monk of St. Mary’s Abbey having made his first profession of monastic vows on March 21, 1985 and final profession of monastic vows on March 19, 1988. He was ordained to the priesthood by the late Bishop Frank Rodimer, J.C.D., D.D. on June 24, 1989.
The late Pope Francis nominated him to be Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Newark on February 27, 2020. His consecration was in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart on June 30, 2020 by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., D.D.
Bishop Elias was born on October 6, 1960 in Brooklyn, NY. He attended St. Agatha’s Elementary School in Sunset Park and Cathedral Prep in Fort Green where he began discernment for a vocation to the
consecrated life and priesthood.
He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from Don Bosco College, Newton, NJ, Master’s Degree in Liturgical Theology from St. John’s
University, Collegeville, MN, Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ and Licentiate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. At St. Mary’s Abbey, he served as prior of the monastery, liturgy director and rector of the abbey church. At Delbarton School, the monastery’s principal apostolate, he served in the religious studies faculty and administration for more than twenty years. As campus minster of the school, he organized retreat and service projects for the students, including with Operation Smile International, personally serving on medical missions in Bolivia, China, Honduras, India, Kenya, Nicaragua, and the Philippines.
Bishop Elias is a founding member and emeritus president of the International Commission for Benedictine Education, an association of
more than 180 Benedictine schools throughout the world. He served as canonical counsel to Praesidium, Inc. to develop protocols and safeguarding standards for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons in collaboration with the Conference of Major Superiors of Men.
He later served on Praesidium’s client advisory board for several years. He then went to Sant ’Anselmo, the international Benedictine university in
Rome, Italy where he served as prior of the college and procurator general for the Benedictine Order. In this latter role, he worked with the various offices of the Roman Curia in the Vatican. Prior to his appointment as bishop, he was elected Abbot President of the American Cassinese Congregation in 2016. This monastic congregation includes 24 monasteries in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia,
Mexico, and Taiwan with 600 monks. These Benedictine monasteries sponsor 10 colleges and universities and 12 secondary schools in North and South America and serve in various pastoral ministries in many dioceses in six countries.
Currently, Bishop Elias serves as the Regional Bishop for Union County in the Archdiocese of Newark. In this role, he works closely with the deans and pastors of parishes and principals of schools in the county. Bishop Elias also works at the archdiocesan pastoral center in the office for canonical affairs. He has been active in the Knights of Columbus since his ordination to the priesthood in 1989 and became a Fourth Degree Knight in 2024.
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