WASHINGTON – Pope Leo XIV has appointed Reverend Pedro Bismarck Chau as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. Bishop-elect Chau is a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark and currently serves as the rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. At the same time, the Holy Father accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Gregory J. Studerus, 77, from the Office of Auxiliary Bishop of Newark. The appointment and resignation were publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 30, 2025, by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
The following biographical information for Bishop-elect Chau was drawn from preliminary materials provided to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Father Chau was born on July 18, 1964, in Managua, Nicaragua. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology (2004) and a master’s degree in professional counseling (2021) from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. He studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, New Jersey. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 24, 2008.
Father Chau’s assignments after ordination include: parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Garfield (2008-2012); associate director of CYO and Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Newark (2012-2015); assistant director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Newark (2013-2016); campus minister at New Jersey Institute of Technology and at the Newman Center at Rutgers University in Newark (2015-2020); and pastor of St. John’s Church and St. Patrick Pro-Cathedral in Newark, concurrent with his assignments as campus minister (2015-2020).
From 2017 through 2020, Bishop-elect Chau served on the Priest Personnel Board for the Archdiocese of Newark. The bishop-elect began his current role as rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in 2020. Other responsibilities that have been part of Bishop-elect Chau’s ministry include service on the archdiocesan Counsel of Priests, chaplain for the pastoral ministry with the Deaf, representative for V Encuentro, adjunct professor at Immaculate Conception Seminary, and chaplain for the Order of Malta in the New Jersey area. Bishop-elect Chau speaks English and Spanish.
The Archdiocese of Newark is comprised of 513 square miles in the State of New Jersey and has a total population of 3,119,659, of which 1,040,504, are Catholic.
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