Diocese of Camden Bishop James T. McHugh
1989-1998
"I come to you today as your new bishop to carry on the work already begun; to proclaim the message of Christ strongly and unflinchingly as we approach the year 2000; to affirm and encourage our priests, religious and lay people who are already working with such great dedication; to promote respect for human life at every stage from conception to natural death and in every circumstance; to heighten the sensitivity of everyone to the needs of the poor, the disadvantaged, those in neeed of comapssion and reconciliation."
Bishop James T. McHugh was istalled as the fifth Bishop of Camden at St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral on June 20,1989. Born Jan. 3, 1932 in Orange, N.J. he is the son of Caroline Scavone McHugh and the late James T. McHugh. He attended St. Venantius School and Our Lady of the Valley High School in Orange; Seton Hall University in South Orange and Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, N.J. where he received a Master of Divinity degree. Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark at Sacred Heart Cathedral on May 25, 1957, Bishop McHugh served as assistant pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Newark and Holy Trinity Church, Fort Lee, N.J. and was a member of the Archdiocesan Family Life Committee (1962-65). From 1964- 65, he was moderator of the Bergen County Catholic Physicians' Guild and the Bergen County Catholic Nurses' Council (1963-65). He took graduate studies in sociology at Fordham University, New York City (1963-65). . From i965 to 67, he took graduate courses in sociology at The American University of America in Washington, D.C. From 1965-78, Bishop McHugh served on the staffs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference and served as director of the NCCB Office of Pro-Life Activities (197278). He was' named a Papal Chamberlain of His Holiness, Pope. Paul VI in 1971.
Bishop McHugh was a visiting lecturer in theology at Princeton Theological Seminary (1974), Immaculate Conception Seminary (1976-81), American College, Louvain (1976) and Pontifical Lateran University, Rome (1982). He has served on special assignments on behalf of the Holy See as delegation member, observer and representative to various national and international conferences and was appointed to the delegation of the Permanent Observer Mission of the, Holy See to the United Nations in 1983. From 1978 -81, he studied moral theology in Rome and was awarded a doctorate degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. He served as special assistant at the World Synod of Bishops on "The Christian Family in the Contemporary World" in 1980. In 1981, he was named director of the Diocesan Development Program for Natural Family Planning, NCCBIUSCC. " He was appointed Vicar for Parish and Family Life, Archdiocese of Newark in 1986 and was elevated to the rank of Prelate of Honor. In 1988, he was ordained Titular Bishop of Morosbisco and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark on Jan. 25, 1988 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark. During the years he was ordinary of the Camden Diocese, Bishop McHugh became widely known outside of South Jersey through his service to the Holy See. He served as a delegate at United Nations-sponsored conferences on the environment (1992 in Rio de Janeiro) and on population and development (1994 in Cairo). In the weeks preceding the Cairo conference, the bishop served as the Vatican's point man in handling national media inquiries on the Church's position and plans.
Within the diocese, his decade long legacy includes: The relocation of diocesan headquarters to the downtown Camden area. A major reorganization of the diocese's administrative structure. A push to safeguard Catholic education, including a $63 million Catholic Education Endowment Fund for schools and religious education programs; a five-point plan to reinvigorate Catholic high schools and a grassroots effort to support school choice legislation in Trenton. Catholic school enrollment has gradually increased over the past several years. A diocesan synod process, in which thousands of Catholics came together in locations all over the Diocese to have their say in the future direction of the Church of Camden.
The two-year process culminated when more than 500 delegates met for a three-day Synod event; Sept. 11-13, 1992, at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry HiII. The recommendations and statutes of the synod became the blueprint for diocesan planning.
A $30 million Uniting in Faith and Mission capital campaign to fund a priest retirement home, Catholic education, parishes in dire financial straits, the church's social outreach and implementation of the Diocesan Synod.
RENEW, which began in Oct. 1, 1995, has revitalized the spiritual life of many individuals and their parishes.
The construction of Sacred Heart Residence for Priests in Cherry Hill.
The establishment of a pastor training program and an upgrading of the program for the continuing education and spiritual formation of priests.
He was named coadjutor to Bishop John R. McGann of Rockville Centre, N.Y.
* Bishop Joseph Galante
* Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
* Bishop James T. McHugh
* Bishop George H. Guilfoyle
* Archbishop Celestine J. Damiano
* Bishop Justin J. McCarthy
* Bishop Bartholomew J. Eustace