James F. Checchio

James Francis Checchio (born April 21, 1966, in Camden, New Jersey) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic church. Checchio served as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome from 2005 until 2016. On March 8, 2016, Pope Francis named Checchio as bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey.

Early life
James Checchio was born on April 21, 1966, in Camden, New Jersey to James and Helen Checchio. He attended St. John School in Collingwood, New Jersey, then Paul VI High School in Haddon Township, New Jersey. After his high school graduation in 1984, Cheechio entered the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1988.

Deciding to become a priest, Checcio traveled to Rome to study at the seminary at the Pontifical North American College while studying at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He received a Licentiate in Canon Law in 1993.

Priesthood
Checchio was ordained a priest by Bishop James McHugh for the Diocese of Camden on June 20, 1992, at the Cathedral of the immaculate Conception in Camden. After his 1992 ordination, the diocese assigned Cheechio to the following positions in New Jersey parishes:


 * associate priest at St. Peter Parish in Merchantville (1992 to 1993)
 * parochial vicar at St. Agnes Parish in Blackwood (1993 to 1995)
 * associate priest at St. Peter Celestine Parish in Cherry Hill (1996)

In 1997, McHugh named Cheechio as his priest secretary. At the same time, he served as defender of the bond, assistant director of the Office of Public Relations and Communications and vice chancellor. In 1999, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio appointed Cheechio as his priest-secretary along with moderator of the curia.

In 2000, Checchio was appointed a chaplain of his holiness by Pope John Paul II. The next year, he was named as administrator of Holy Spirit Parish in Atlantic City, New Jersey and in 2004 was made episcopal vicar for administration. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia.

Vice Rector and Rector of the North American College
Checchio left Camden for Rome in 2004 after being named as vice rector for administration at the Pontifical North American College. On December 12, 2005, the oversight board for the college appointed him as rector. He would serve in this position for the next five years. Checchio was elevated to the rank of honorary prelate by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

Bishop of Metuchen
On March 8, 2016, Checchio was appointed by Pope Francis to succeed to Bishop Paul Bootkoski as the fifth bishop of Metuchen. Cheechio's episcopal consecration took place on May 3, 2016, at the Church of the Sacred Heart in South Plainfield, New Jersey. The principal consecrator was Archbishop John J. Myers; the co-consecrators were Bootkoski and Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan.

Checchio in August 2018 said that he was "saddened and ashamed" by the reports of child sexual abuse by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a former bishop of Metuchen. Checchio referred to McCarrick's acts as atrocities. The Vatican laicized McCarrick in February 2019.

In 2021, Cheechio condemned the abuse of inmates at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, New Jersey, by some correctional officers.