Anthony Bevilacqua - Priesthood

Priesthood

Bevilacqua was ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1949, at St. James Cathedral. He then served as an associate pastor at the Sacred Heart Church, St. Stephen Church (Brooklyn), and St. Mary Church (Long Island) until 1950. He taught at his alma mater of Cathedral College from 1950 to 1954, and then furthered his studies in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University, from where he obtained a doctorate in canon law summa cum laude in 1956.

Upon his return to the United States, Bevilacqua served as an official in the diocesan tribunal and as a chaplain to the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood. He earned a Master's degree in political science from Columbia University in 1962, and was named vice-chancellor for the Diocese of Brooklyn in 1965. From 1968 to 1980, Bevilacqua was a visiting professor of canon law at Immaculate Conception Seminary. During this time, he also founded the Diocesan Office for Migration and Refugees in 1971, and received a doctorate in civil law from St. John's University in 1975. He was entitled to practice law in the courts of New York and Pennsylvania, and, in a rarity for U.S. prelates possessing civil law degrees, had been allowed to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, though he never actually argued any cases before the Court.

Bevilacqua was raised to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness on January 23, 1976; he became chancellor of the Diocese that year as well. From 1977 to 1980, he taught immigration law as an adjunct professor at St. John's University School of Law.