Late Bishop Galeone 'loved Jesus, loved people,' says Baltimore priest, a friend of his for 40 years

By Lisa Harlow, OSV News

BALTIMORE (OSV News) -- A Baltimore priest who was a good friend of retired Bishop Victor B. Galeone of St. Augustine, Florida, for 40 years said the prelate, who died May 29, "loved being a priest. It was his whole life. He loved Jesus, and he loved people."

"As a priest, he lived his whole life to do God's will, and he did it perfectly," Msgr. James Farmer told the Catholic Review, Baltimore's archdiocesan news outlet.

Bishop Galeone, who was ordained a priest of the Baltimore Archdiocese, served as the ninth bishop of St. Augustine from 2001 until he retired in 2011. He died at St. Martin's Home for the Aged in Catonsville, Maryland, at age 87.

His funeral Mass was celebrated June 6 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine in St. Augustine, followed by interment in the bishops' mausoleum at San Lorenzo Catholic Cemetery there. The main celebrant of the Mass was Bishop Erik T. Pohlmeier, the current bishop of St, Augustine, and the homilist was Msgr. Farmer, administrator at Immaculate Conception in Towson, Maryland.

"I am grateful for the legacy of Bishop Galeone. As I hear stories of his service in the Diocese of St. Augustine, the fruits of his efforts are obvious," Bishop Pohlmeier said in a statement about his passing. "There are many serving today who began their work and ministry under his care. May God welcome this faithful shepherd in the merciful heart of our Savior."

"Bishop Galeone was such a man of prayer. He led the Diocese of St. Augustine by embracing the whole spectrum of the culture of life," said retired Bishop Felipe J. Estévez, the 10th bishop of St. Augustine. "The mission of the church was his personal priority giving such care to people on the margins. Bishop Galeone was a bishop who witnessed the truth consistently and at all times."

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori offered a funeral Mass for Bishop Galeone June 2 at St. Martin's Home for the Aged.

"I was saddened to learn of the passing of Bishop Victor Galeone," he said in a statement. "He was a great priest and bishop. He was deeply loved and respected as a priest and pastor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He had a special love and regard for his fellow priests that is remembered to this day."

"Bishop Galeone went on to serve as bishop of St. Augustine with single-hearted devotion and love, bringing together people of different cultures and languages with a pastor's love and care," the archbishop said. "Whatever form his priestly ministry took, he was always deeply prayerful, spending time each day before the Blessed Sacrament and prayerfully reading holy Scripture."

Praised by many as a humble and holy priest, Bishop Galeone held many different assignments over the years, including parish priest, missionary, high school teacher and later, bishop.

Born in Philadelphia Sept. 13, 1935, and raised in Baltimore, Victor Benito Galeone grew up in a close-knit Italian family. His spirituality was evident even when he was a boy, so his family was not surprised when he announced that he had a vocation to the priesthood. He attended St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland, St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he was ordained in 1960 for the Baltimore Archdiocese.

After his ordination in Rome, then-Father Galeone returned to Baltimore, serving as associate pastor of St. Bernardine (1961-62), and chaplain of St. Paul Latin High School (1963-69). He was chaplain of the Cardinal Gibbons School in Baltimore (1969-70), and served as a missionary twice in Peru with the Society of St. James the Apostle during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was associate pastor of St. William of York in Baltimore (1975-78).

"Whatever assignment he was given, he was enthusiastic about it," Msgr. Farmer told the Catholic Review. "He loved his mission work. He loved helping the poor."

Bishop Galeone returned to Baltimore from Peru in 1985 to work in parishes, serving as pastor of St. Bernard in Baltimore (1985-89), St. Thomas More in Baltimore (1989-96) and St. Agnes in Catonsville (1996-2001). He also was director of the Society of the Propagation of Faith beginning in 1996.

"He loved his mission work," said Msgr. Farmer. "He loved helping the poor."

Bishop Galeone left an impression on many he met, and most would agree his holiness was his most memorable trait.

"Father Vic used to call the Bible God‘s love letter," said Michelle Burke, a longtime parishioner of St. Agnes. "This underlined his relationship with (God). His love for God was very evident. The way he said Mass, he was present and not just going through the motions. He was deeply spiritual, and he had a deep love for the Lord."

Current pastor of St. Agnes, Father Isaac Makovo, first met Bishop Galeone in 2019 when they were both helping out at Little Sisters of the Poor.

"He was very humble, and someone who was very passionate about his faith," Father Makovo said. "There were so many great things said about him here. I am the pastor now, but I could never fill his shoes."

While at St. Agnes, Bishop Galeone was contemplating retiring and returning to the mission field. But in 2001, he received a call from the apostolic nuncio telling him that he was named the new bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine. He initially declined because of his age -- he was in his mid-60s -- and other factors, but soon agreed.

A diocesan press release noted that Bishop Galeone led northeastern Florida diocese during some of the most difficult days facing the country and the church.

He was consecrated and installed as the diocese's new shepherd Aug. 21, 2001, and during his first staff meeting, on Sept. 11, he received news of the terrorist attacks on the U.S.

The following year the American church was rocked by accusations that priests had sexually abused children. The national scandal resulted in much soul-searching for the church and the implementation of mandatory training and screening procedures.

The Great Recession of 2008 brought new burdens to the diocese. The major growth spurts in the previous decades had left the diocese in debt. Bishop Galeone was forced to make difficult decisions – laying off staff and freezing the salaries of diocesan employees.

During his tenure, he also dedicated a museum at Mission of Nombre de Dios, a Catholic mission founded in 1565. He consolidated and moved the diocesan archives, which include some of the oldest documents in North America, including the first parish records, the Stetson Collection of papers from the First Spanish Period (1565-1763), the East Florida papers from the Spanish colonial government (1784-1821) and the records from the founding of the diocese in 1870.

In 2006, Bishop Galeone also began the diocesan formation program for the permanent diaconate and ordained the first group of deacons. Up until then, permanent deacons had come from other dioceses.

He championed the traditional family, natural family planning and protection of the unborn, which he addressed in his first pastoral letter, "Marriage: A Communion of Life and Love" (July 2003), which was translated into 14 languages. His second pastoral letter was "Stewardship: A Discipleship of Love" (August 2004).

Bishop Galeone retired as bishop in 2011, the year he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination. He was 76 and spent the early years of his retirement in a Trappist monastery in South Carolina, where he ministered to prisoners. He also did a lot of writing there, and in 2015 he published a book, "Joyful Good News: For Young and Old."

While he was a busy man, he always made time to go fishing with Msgr. Farmer, whether it was along Maryland's Chesapeake Bay or in Florida after he moved. According to Msgr. Farmer, for decades they took an annual vacation to Ocean City.

As Bishop Galeone's health declined, he returned to Baltimore, later moving to St. Martin's Home for the Aged under the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor.

He is survived by his sisters Elisa Lemonds and Rose Marie Sterner and numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.