GREENSBORO — Monsignor Anthony John Marcaccio, the longtime lionhearted pastor of St. Pius X, known for his generosity, inspiring homilies and gregarious demeanor, passed away Friday, July 19, 2024, after a short battle with appendiceal cancer. He was 61.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 31, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 2210 North Elm St., in Greensboro, with Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., officiating. Family and friends will be received Tuesday, July 30, from 2 to 9 p.m., at St. Pius X. Interment will be private.
Monsignor Marcaccio underwent surgery July 9 in Chicago and appeared to be recovering, posing for a photo in his hospital bed while covered in Get-Well cards and flashing his million-dollar smile. But parishioners were heartbroken a few days later when their pastor of 24 years succumbed to complications, and soon found themselves turning to Monsignor Marcaccio’s own words for comfort.
“We have to change our perspective when it comes to this kind of grief,” he said in a 2020 video for All Souls’ Day, re-posted on the parish’s website this week.
“Don’t look at it as (a loved one being) snatched from our hand…but rather, we have given them back to the embrace of the Lord who made them. Those souls are in the embrace of Jesus Christ.”
Monsignor Marcaccio was a character of the highest order, friends say, always smiling and regaling all who would listen with stories, good-natured humor, even practical jokes that might involve funny phone calls to colleagues using disguised voices.
His ministry spanned a range of pastoral experiences – from leading a small church in a mountain town to assisting in the Diocese of Charlotte administration – before he settled into Greensboro to make St. Pius X his forever home. In the 1990s, as priest secretary for Bishop William Curlin, he traversed the diocese, driving the bishop to parishes and schools, delivering messages from the Vatican and taking calls from Mother Teresa, who was a close friend of the bishop’s.
Monsignor Marcaccio had a heart for the poor, homeless and hungry. He inspired his parishioners to “punch above our weight” in financial giving, one member said, raising millions to give the diocese’s annual appeal and to transform the St. Pius X campus.
In 2019, he stood before the U.S. Senate on national TV and prayed for unity: “In this moment make us mindful of all that has brought us together as a country and how it far surpasses that which can divide us, so in all things deliberated and done here we may be preserved as one nation under God.”
He also loved animals and welcomed anyone – with any kind of creature – to come by the church for pet blessings. Schoolkids were spellbound when he described his childhood dream of becoming a pirate. And everyone loved Monsignor’s sidekick “Tater,” a caramel-colored French bulldog, whose pedigree name was “Napolean Tater Tot.” Tater frequently went to work with his dad in the church office, sometimes in different outfits, always serving as a conversation starter.
“He had a profound love of the faith and was very serious about getting you to heaven, but he wanted to put you at ease,” says Derek Ritzel, a St. Pius X parishioner and friend who traveled to Chicago to visit with his pastor in his final days. “He wanted to make sure people saw their faith as approachable, so he told fun stories and made you feel like we’re all sinners on a journey together, rather than having this piety hurdle that you couldn’t clear.”
Generosity of Spirit
Born in Detroit in 1963, Anthony John Marcaccio was the youngest of four children born to Rose and Tony Marcaccio. The family moved to Greenwood, South Carolina, when he was 3, where his father opened a manufacturing plant for a pharmaceutical company. A local priest first kindled his interest in the priesthood, and his family instilled values that would define his life.
“My parents were very generous and welcoming. We always had people to our home. Mom would invite the person who was alone, an elderly person or an exchange student to our home for the holidays,” Monsignor Marcaccio told the Catholic News Herald in 2019, when he established what he expected to become a million-dollar fund in honor of his late parents. The St. Anthony Bread Endowment feeds the hungry in Greensboro and Asheville where his parents had lived.
Young Anthony graduated from Greenwood High School, earned a political science degree from Francis Marion College in Florence, South Carolina, then completed his graduate studies in theology at The Catholic University of America.
He was ordained a priest on June 1, 1991, by Bishop John Donoghue. He served as parochial vicar at St. Gabriel Parish in Charlotte and as pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Swannanoa, before becoming priest secretary to Bishop Curlin in 1994.
The pair became fast friends and confidants, sharing long car rides across the western half of North Carolina, listening to classical music and opera, or discussing issues of the day. They visited Pope John Paul II together in Rome. Bishop Curlin gifted two chihuahuas to him, Chica and Obispo (or “Bishop” in Spanish).
One Curlin mantra Monsignor Marcaccio absorbed and frequently shared: “Your will, Lord – nothing more, nothing less and nothing else.” Fittingly, he will be buried next to his good friend at Belmont Abbey.
In 2000, Monsignor Marcaccio was appointed pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Greensboro, where he served the rest of his priestly ministry.
In 2002, in recognition of his service to the Church, he was named a Chaplain of His Holiness by Pope John Paul II – granting him the title of monsignor.
A ‘generational talent’
At St. Pius, Monsignor Marcaccio immediately went to work building a community and an environment that would inspire their faith, parishioners said.
“He embodied our motto ‘To know, love and serve the Lord,’ ” says Pat Spivey, his pastoral associate for 21 years. “It defines the way he went about his life, and he encouraged all of us and all of his parishioners to do the same.”
He was generous with his time and his money – personally and through the parish’s charitable outreach, parishioners say. He was a strong advocate for Greensboro Urban Ministry, constantly collecting food and sending volunteers to its food pantry. In 2022, in honor of the diocese’s 50th anniversary, he set out to collect 50,000 pounds of nonperishable food for the poor – and he rallied parishioners to deliver.
“He was always looking out for the hungry and the homeless,” says Mary O’Neill, former director of Greensboro Urban Ministry’s food pantry. “He was always sending us food and volunteers. When I moved over to work at the (homeless) shelter, he toured the building and bought lamps for all the rooms.”
Monsignor Marcaccio was meticulous in everything he did, staff and parishioners say – from the design, furnishings and maintenance of the church, to the liturgies and homilies he delivered.
“Monsignor liked everything perfect and looking good,” says O’Neill, also a parishioner. At the same time, despite a slightly cluttered look, he decided to place multiple food-collection boxes in prominent locations inside the church to keep the mission top-of-mind.
His example and expectations inspired others, adds Spivey.
“He expected excellence. He wanted things to be right and done correctly. He wanted our parish to be open and welcoming, from the design of the lobby to the greeting you received. He always told the receptionists: ‘You are the first face and the first voice of St. Pius the Tenth,’ which meant they were to be warm and welcoming and attentive to whoever came through that door.”
He also was a “brilliant homilist” who made things relevant, Ritzel says.
“He made me better. He made me learn. He created opportunities where I could be part of smaller faith communities like Bible studies. He inspired me to go deep, to live my faith…He reflected the love of Christ.”
Monsignor Marcaccio’s work yielded great fruit. The parish nearly doubled to 1,800 registered families during his tenure. Nearly 90 percent of parishioners participated in the “Making a Place at the Table” capital campaign that raised $6.6 million toward construction of a new church, which opened in 2010. Next came a new parish center and a primary education facility in 2015, which brought another $6.7 million in contributions from parishioners.
“Monsignor was visionary,” says Marcaccio’s administrative assistant Liz Pendergrass. “He conveyed his vision and empowered us to achieve it with him for the glory of God. He showed us what we were capable of doing with the gifts we are given.”
Ritzel calls him “a generational talent,” saying, “He did everything so well. He was really good at managing all the processes that go into running a church. And he was so good at being with people and understanding who they were. He just created an environment where people wanted to contribute and be a part of things.”
‘Catching souls’
When COVID-19 hit, a smiling Marcaccio and little Tater appeared in a series of videos sent to parishioners, charming them at a grim time and helping them stay connected.
“People loved him,” parishioner O’Neill says. “He was always joyful. He always said, ‘Joy is the net for catching souls.’ ’’
He had a skillset and a style parishioners say will be hard to replace. “Can you imagine being the guy who had to replace Phil Jackson at the Chicago Bulls or Nick Sabin at Alabama?” Ritzel says.
In 2016, on the 25th anniversary of his ordination, Monsignor Marcaccio told the Catholic News Herald how he hoped people would remember him.
“I hope that after 25 years people would think of the success of my priesthood in Jesus Christ in terms of a living legacy – not brick and mortar, not a building, not even a church door, but as someone who helped them open the Door of Mercy, that Living Door, the Gate through which the people of our parish were able to pass and develop that deep, abiding friendship with God.”
In a July 19 letter announcing the Monsignor Marcaccio’s death, Bishop Martin echoed the sentiments of so many: “May we all console one another with the promises of Christ in the resurrection as well as with the knowledge that Msgr. Marcaccio has heard the words that he lived his life to hear: 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your master’s joy.’ ” (Mt. 25:23)
— Catholic News Herald
Msgr. Anthony J. Marcaccio's full obituary
The Rev. Msgr. Anthony J. Marcaccio died Friday, July 19, 2024, following complications from appendiceal cancer. He had served in priestly ministry for 33 years, most recently as the beloved pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Greensboro. He was 61.
Anthony John Marcaccio was born in Detroit, Michigan, the youngest of four children of Tony and Rose Marcaccio. When he was very young, the family moved to Greenwood, South Carolina.
In 1981, he graduated from Greenwood High School, then in 1985 graduated with a Bachelor of Science in political science from Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. There he joined Sigma Phi Epsilon National Fraternity and the Pi Gamma Mu National Honor Society for Social Sciences.
He felt a calling to serve the Church from a young age and served with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Detroit from 1985 to 1986. He then entered seminary to become a Catholic priest. In 1991, he completed graduate studies in theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
He was ordained a priest on June 1, 1991, by Bishop John F. Donoghue of Charlotte, at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
After ordination, he served as parochial vicar at St. Gabriel Catholic Parish in Charlotte and then as pastor of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Parish in Swannanoa, North Carolina, before becoming priest secretary to Charlotte Bishop William G. Curlin in 1994. During his time as priest secretary, he served as the diocese’s Master of Ceremonies, in which he coordinated major diocesan liturgies. He also helped out during his priestly ministry as administrator for brief periods at St. Elizabeth Catholic Parish in Boone, North Carolina, St. John Neumann Catholic Parish in Charlotte, and St. Benedict Parish in Greensboro, and he served as chaplain to the Missionaries of Charity in Charlotte.
In 2000, he was appointed pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Parish in Greensboro, where he led the parish during a time of unprecedented growth, including the building of a new church in 2010, the Simmons Parish Center, and the DeJoy Primary Education Center. He fostered a spirituality of stewardship in the parish that was manifested in its many ministries, and under his leadership the parish’s stewardship efforts received international accolades from the International Catholic Stewardship Council.
Msgr. Marcaccio served the Diocese of Charlotte in many leadership roles throughout his priestly ministry. He was on the Diocese of Charlotte Presbyteral Council for over 20 years, he was a member of the diocesan College of Consultors, and he led the Greensboro Vicariate as Vicar Forane from 2005 to 2024. He was also vice chancellor of the diocese in 2002.
Msgr. Marcaccio also served as Magistral Chaplain of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and he was a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He was also committed to the mission of the Knights of Columbus, serving as a Fourth Degree Knight and former State Chaplain.
In recognition of his remarkable service to the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II named him a Chaplain of His Holiness in 2002, granting him the title of monsignor.
His other leadership work included serving on the board of Belmont Abbey College, and on the board and as chair of the Alumni Association of the Theological College at The Catholic University of America.
Aspiring to be a pirate from his youth, Msgr. Marcaccio enjoyed spending time on the coast in Beaufort as well as at his home in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He enjoyed movies and mysteries, dinners with friends, traveling with his parishioners on pilgrimage, and watching television with his French Bulldog Tater, who was as beloved at St. Pius X Parish as he was.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Rose and Tony Marcaccio, and his nephew Enio Marcaccio. Survivors include his brothers Charles (Mary) and John (Kay), his sister Celeste (Steve) Proffit, four nieces, two nephews and eight grandnieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held from 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 2210 N. Elm St., Greensboro, N.C. 27408.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, with the Most Rev. Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv., Bishop of Charlotte, officiating. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: The Marcaccio Family St. Anthony’s Bread Endowment of the Foundation of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, P.O. Box 13588, Greensboro, N.C. 27415-3588.
Hanes Lineberry Funeral Home of Greensboro is in charge of the arrangements.
More online
2016 interview with Monsignor Marcaccio on serving 25 years as a priest: “St. Pius X's Monsignor Marcaccio celebrates 25th jubilee”
Msgr. Marcaccio establishes an endowment to carry on works of charity in honor of his parents: ‘St. Anthony’s Bread’ Endowment created at St. Pius X Church