Bishop of Wilmington
1933-2009
Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli was born in Jersey City, NJ, to A. Michael and Caroline Marzitello Saltarelli. He was one of seven children. He attended Holy Rosary Elementary School and Ferris High School, both in Jersey City. In 1956 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Seton Hall University and commenced the study of theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington, NJ. In 1975, he received a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from Manhattan College.
Ordained to the priesthood in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Newark, NJ by Archbishop Thomas A. Boland on May 28, 1960, Bishop Saltarelli was subsequently assigned to Holy Family Church in Nutley. He served in Nutley from June 1960 to August 1977. He was appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Assumption, Bayonne, NJ, and remained there until August of 1982 when he was appointed Executive Director for Pastoral Services in the Archdiocese of Newark by Archbishop Peter L. Gerety. In 1984, Bishop Saltarelli was named a Prelate of Honor with the title of Monsignor by Pope John Paul II. On June 1, 1985 he was appointed Pastor of Saint Catherine of Siena Church in Cedar Grove, NJ. In November 1987, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick appointed him Vicar for Priests.
Bishop Saltarelli served as Dean of North Essex, Dean of Bayonne and Dean of West Essex. He served two terms as a member of the Priests’ Personnel Board, one term as President of that Board. He was also a member of the Archdiocesan School Board.
The appointment of Bishop Saltarelli as Titular Bishop of Mesarfelta and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark was announced on June 1, 1990. He was Rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral, remained Vicar for Priests and in 1992 was appointed Episcopal Moderator of the National Holy Name Society. He was also New Jersey State Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. (Source: Diocese of Wilmington, Office of the Bishop Emeritus)
On November 21, 1995 Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Saltarelli to be the Eight Bishop of the See of Wilmington. The See of Welmington included 58 parishes, 18 missions and 37 schools throughout the area including the states of Delaware and Maryland.
With a strong Roman profile and a throaty accent, Saltarelli was hailed during his life as a ‘priest’s priest’ who was modest and self-effacing. Sure in his calling to be a priest since he was 19, he was recalled as a pragmatic bishop with a grounding in faith who particularly enjoyed meeting parishioners during frequent visits to parishes up and down the Delmarva Peninsula. “People joked that he traveled like he owned a helicopter,” said the Rev. Tom Flowers of Smyrna. “During his busiest years, just reading his weekly schedule could make you tired.”
His tenure as bishop from 1996 until he retired in 2008 was rocked by the priest sexual abuse scandal, and he faced financial and demographic shifts, including an influx of Spanish-speaking Catholic immigrants. But he always said that his primary concern, in becoming both a priest and a bishop, was to ask: “Is the Gospel being practiced? Are we tending to the needs of the poor, the lonely, the outcast, the needy?” (Source: www.njhometown.com, 10/9/2009)
Saltarelli worked with American bishops to frame new policies protecting children and implemented them in the Diocese of Wilmington. He often apologized to victims and said church leaders erred in not dealing with the issue of abusive priests decades ago. To meet the needs of new Spanish-speaking immigrants, he expanded the church’s Hispanic ministry and formed a partnership between his diocese and the Diocese of Guatemala. He raised more than $50 million for new buildings and budgeted for improvements in older parishes. He added three new schools and several new churches. He was most proud of having ordained 23 men as priests, though he wished it could have been 123.
He was known for encouraging children. “The first time I met him he was preaching at a confirmation and I was kind of surprised at how clear and fearless and truthful he was,” stated Ellen Barrosse of Hockessin. “He was talking to teenagers and not trying to be cool or relevant by conveying the Christian message in unclear and uncertain terms � calling on the young people to live it out.” (Source: www.njhometown.com, 10/9/2009)
Bishop Saltarelli served on the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Committees on Education (Sub-Committee on Catechesis) and African American Catholics; was elected to the Board of Trustees for Catholic Relief Services and was elected chairman of the Region IV Bishops; was appointed to the Advisory Board of the National Religious Retirement Office, the Committee on Laity; chaired the Finance Committee for Catholic Relief Services; was appointed to the Board of St. Mary’s Seminary and to the Board of Overseers of Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, NJ; was appointed to the USCCB Communications Committee and Nominating Committee; and served on the Board of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.