Church Roman Catholic Nationality Maltese Ordination October 28, 1905 | Rank Archbishop Name George Caruana Consecration October 28, 1921 | |
Born April 23, 1882
Sliema Malta ( 1882-04-23 ) Buried McAuley Convent Chapel Cemetery Died March 25, 1951, Merion, Pennsylvania, United States Other posts Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico | ||
George Joseph Caruana (23 April 1882 - 25 March 1951) was a Maltese Archbishop who served as a papal representative to various countries until his death in 1951.
Caruana was born in Sliema Malta on the feast of St George, his patron saint, on April 23, 1882. He attended the college of St Ignatius in Birkirkara and the Capranica College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn in 1905 by Archbishop Pietro Pace of Malta.
Caruana was assigned as a parish priest to one of the local parishes in Brooklyn. During World War I he became a US chaplain serving in the Panama Canal Zone and Puerto Rico until 1919. After the war Caruana became secretary to Dennis Joseph Dougherty the Cardinal Archbishop of Philadelphia. He served in this post until 1921 when he was appointed as the Bishop of Puerto Rico which later was renamed as the Diocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico. He was consecrated on 28 October 1921 by Cardinal Antonio Vico. In 1925 Caruana was appointed as the Apostolic Delegate to Mexico and Apostolic Delegate to Antilles. He was assigned the Titular see of Sebastea. In 1927 he was also appointed as Apostolic Internuncio to Haiti. Three years later he resigned the latter post. In 1935 Pope Pius XI appointed him as Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba. He maintained this post until April 26, 1947. Archbishop Caruana died on Easter Sunday 25 March 1951 in Merion, Pennsylvania. He was buried in McAuley Convent Chapel Cemetery in Merion, Pennsylvania.