"The church is not the bishop, or the clergy, but it is everybody. I see myself as a fellow pilgrim, walking with you."

Bishop Bosco says the image of a pilgrim people of God, along with the Universal Call to Holiness - each central teachings of the Second Vatican Council - have comprised an ongoing theme in his administration of the diocese.

"Jesus was also a pilgrim, who journeyed from Bethlehem to Calvary and back to heaven," notes the bishop.  In the tradition of this "rather dusty" scriptural image of Christ the Good Shepherd, "our own pilgrimage is marked by bumps in the road.  Sometimes we're not too sure what's around the next bend.  But what makes us happy, as pilgrims, is that we have other pilgrims with us," he explains.  "It isn't a lonely journey.  We support one another, and if someone stumbles we help pick them up."

Bishop Bosco's own journey to his episcopacy began in Pittsburgh, where he was born and raised.  The son of Joseph Bosco, a tailor born in Salerno, Italy, and Teresa Pezone Bosco, a native of New Castle, the bishop has fond memories of growing up in the diverse ethnic neighborhood of Pittsburgh's North Side.

He felt a call to the priesthood while in high school and entered college at St. Fidelis Seminary in Herman, PA.  Like all seminarians studying then for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Bishop Bosco completed his college and seminary studies at Saint Vincent Seminary, a Benedictine institution in Latrobe.  "That was probably the first time," he has said, "that I set foot in [what later became] the Diocese of Greensburg."

After his 1952 ordination, Bishop Bosco spent time as a parochial vicar at St. Patrick Church in Canonsburg.  Later, at his bishop's request, he went to Rome to study canon law at Lateran University, where he earned a licentiate in 1957.

Bishop Bosco "loved every bit" of his experience abroad, which afforded him many opportunities to travel through Italy, other parts of Europe and the near East.  He says he returned to Pittsburgh with a deeper understanding of "the universality of the church."

Bishop Bosco served the Pittsburgh chancery for nearly three decades.  He was assistant chancellor through 1965 and vice-chancellor through 1967.  In 1968, he became a domestic prelate with the title of monsignor and two years later was ordained auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh.

Bishop Bosco served the diocese as chancellor from 1967 to 1985 and general secretary through 1987.  From 1957 to 1971, he was also chaplain and instructor at Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, where he taught courses on medical ethics and marriage and spent much time making pastoral visits with patients and their families.  From 1971 until his appointment as bishop in Greensburg, he served as chaplain to the Sisters of the Holy Spirit at their motherhouse.

In addition to his administrative duties in the chancery, Bishop Bosco served in many different Pittsburgh diocesan positions, including chairmanships of the diocesan Family Life Committee and the diocesan Worship Committee.  Over the years, he has also held leadership positions in numerous local and national private and public organizations, from the Catholic Institute of Pittsburgh to the Catholic Communications Foundation.

It was during the years of the Second Vatican Council that Bishop Bosco began participating in communications media work, an involvement that has deepened ever since.  He began by joining an ecumenical radio show on KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh and then hosted a television talk show on WPGH-TV and a weekly cable television program.

Bishop Bosco has chaired the Communications Committee of the United States Catholic Conference, the civil arm of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.  The bishop played an influential role in the establishment of the Catholic Communication Campaign, which included a national fundraising effort to support church communications projects.

The bishop is equally committed to effective communications in his own backyard.  For example, he established the Department of Infomedia Services at the Greensburg diocese because "we want to use as many different forms of media as it takes to reach our many different publics," he says.  "As was true when Christ was on earth, the name of the game is getting the message out."

In assuming his role as shepherd of the Diocese of Greensburg, "my great concern was the universal call to holiness, which was one of the seminal teachings of Vatican II," says the bishop.

"'The universal call to holiness is rooted in our initiation as Christians, in our baptism, confirmation and Eucharist," he explains.  "That's why we are all called to holiness.  That's our commission as Christians."

Therefore, the diocese is strongly committed to exploring and enhancing the area of parish social ministry, according to the bishop.  They have adopted a vision and mission statement which summarizes the identity, call and responding action of the people of God in the church of Greensburg.

"Our motto, 'Journey of a Lifetime,' places each of us 'on the same road,'" says the bishop.  "It serves to remind individuals that they are part of a larger community where every member is responsible to build up a just and compassionate society in which the gifts of each are shared with the many."

In 1995, under Bishop Bosco's leadership, the diocese established the "New Wine, New Wineskins" program, a process aimed at the development of Parish Pastoral Councils to operate in service of a new vision of parish.  The previous year, the diocese initiated the Alpha program, a yearlong series of classes and workshops for adults about the Catholic Church and role of Catholics in the church.  Another key effort has been the restoration of the order of sacraments, in which children receive the sacrament of confirmation in conjunction with receiving first Holy Communion.

The new programs are administered by the diocesan department of Education and Spiritual Formation.  "Notice the title," says Bishop Bosco. "It means not only do we have educational programs, but also formation programs.  That goes a bit further - to develop the whole person.  Christianity is not just about knowing things, it's about being something."

The bishop admits that changing long-established methods and mindsets has been a challenge.  "Shifting gears is not easy, even for clergy who grew up in a different era" characterized by a more autocratic church, he explains.

Still, he says, "I am delighted with the response and I think we've made great progress here. I  think, through the various programs we've started, not only have we called lay people to [pastoral ministry] but we are preparing them to identify and exercise their gifts."

The universal call to holiness, however, is a never-ending journey, Bishop Bosco points out.  "The task is never finished."

"Our individual journeys will continue, and the journey of the church of Greensburg will continue, long after I'm gone.  There will be different pilgrims."

If you would like to correspond with Bishop Emeritus Anthony G. Bosco, you may send an e-mail to abosco@dioceseofgreensburg.org.