A viewing and funeral Mass will take place Friday and Saturday for Bishop Joseph A. Galante, a Holmesburg native who served the Diocese of Camden from 2004-13. He died at age 80.
Galante’s body will be received at 3 p.m. on Friday at Saint Agnes Church, Our Lady of Hope Parish, 701 Little Gloucester Road, Blackwood, New Jersey,
The viewing will take place Friday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Following the Mass, Galante will be buried at Saint Dominic Church Cemetery, 8504 Frankford Ave.
Galante attended St. Dominic Grammar School and St. Joseph’s Prep. He was ordained a priest in 1964. His first assignment was as an assistant pastor at Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Tacony.
Galante studied in Rome for three years, then spent four years in the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas. In 1972, he returned to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for a 15-year stay, serving in various capacities. Next, he had a five-year assignment in Rome before returning to Texas in 1992. He was coadjutor bishop (or designated successor) of the Dallas diocese, under Bishop Charles Grahmann, beginning in 2000.
In 2004, Pope John Paul II named Galante the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Camden. He took over for Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who left to become bishop of the Brooklyn diocese. He served until 2013, when he retired for health reasons. He was named Bishop Emeritus. ••
