The Reverend Monsignor Anthony J. Marcaccio

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.