Church Roman Catholic Church Name Dominick Lagonegro See Titular See of Modrus Ordination May 31, 1969 | Predecessor See created Consecration December 12, 2001 Successor Incumbent | |
Born March 6, 1943 (age 81)
White Plains, New York ( 1943-03-06 ) | ||
Dominick John Lagonegro (born March 6, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York.
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Early life
An only child, Dominick Lagonegro was born in a hospital in White Plains, New York, to Dominick R. and Diamentina (née Morgado) Lagonegro, residents of the Silver Lake section of Harrison, New York and parishioners of the church of St. Anthony of Padua. His father's family had emigrated from Calabria in southern Italy, and his mother's family from Turquel in central Portugal. He studied at Cathedral Preparatory Seminary and later at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers.
Priesthood
Lagonegro was ordained to the priesthood by Terence Cardinal Cooke on May 31, 1969, and then served as parochial vicar at St. Vito's Church in Mamaroneck. From 1977 to 1980, he served as parochial vicar at St. Joseph's Church in Kingston, New York and taught at John A. Coleman Catholic High School. He was also parochial vicar at Holy Trinity Church in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1980 to 1989.
Lagonegro was named pastor of Sts. Denis and Columba Church in Hopewell Junction in 1989, and became the founding pastor of St. Columba after the two parishes split in 1992. He was later raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1994, and became Vicar of Dutchess County in 1997.
Episcopal career
On October 30, 2001, Lagonegro was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of New York and Titular Bishop of Modruš by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration from Edward Cardinal Egan, with Bishops Henry Mansell and Robert Brucato serving as co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal motto: Christus Primus, meaning, "Christ First."
In addition to his duties as an auxiliary bishop, Lagonegro serves as Vicar of Orange County, Episcopal Liaison to the Catholic Chaplains Apostolate Committee in New York State, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Liaison to the American Catholic Correctional Chaplains Association. He is an opponent of capital punishment, once saying, "In our modern and civilized society, capital punishment is simply unwarranted and inconsistent with the Catholic Church’s vision of the sacred inviolable dignity of the human person, and the need to recognize the possibility of redemption and conversion. We seek a society of justice and peace, not vengeance and violence."