Early life and education

One of nine children, Gerard Frey was born on May 10, 1914, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Andrew Francis and Marie Theresa (née DeRose) Frey.^[1] Two of his brothers also entered the priesthood.^[2] After attending St. Vincent de Paul School, Frey studied at St. Joseph College Seminary in Saint Benedict, Louisiana, from 1928 to 1932.^[1] He then entered Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, where he completed his theological studies.^[1]

Ordination and ministry

Frey was ordained a priest by Archbishop Joseph Rummel for the Archdiocese of New Orleans on April 2, 1938.^{[3][better source needed]} He then served as a curate at Holy Rosary Parish in Taft, Louisiana, until 1946, when he became director of the archdiocesan Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.^[1] While serving as director, he resided at St. Leo the Great Church in New Orleans.^[1]

Frey was named a papal chamberlain by Pope Pius XII in 1949, and was appointed pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Parish at New Orleans in 1952.^[1] He was named a domestic prelate by the Vatican in 1954.^[1] Frey attended the Second Vatican Council in Rome from 1962 to 1965 as a pastoral representative.^[4] He was later made pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Houma, Louisiana.^[4]

Bishop of Savannah

On May 31, 1967, Frey was appointed the eleventh bishop of the Diocese of Savannah by Pope Paul VI.^{[3][better source needed]} He received his episcopal consecration on August 8, 1967, from Archbishop Philip Hannan, with Bishops Charles Greco and Robert Tracy serving as co-consecrators.^{[3][better source needed]} He selected as his episcopal motto: Serviam (Latin: "I will serve").^[5]

During his tenure, Frey launched the Social Apostolate, a social service agency designed "to put people in the pews in touch with the poor."^[6] He also encouraged every church in the diocese to establish a parish council.^[6]

Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana

On November 7, 1972, Frey was appointed the third bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana by Paul VI.^{[3][better source needed]} During his tenure, he initiated reorganization plans that increased and expanded participation by clergy, religious, and laity in diocesan affairs.^[7] He also named the first woman to serve as chancellor of a Catholic diocese in the United States.^[4] In 1987, he opened a diocesan synod.^[4]

Frey was the bishop of Lafayette when the diocese and the Catholic Church faced the first wave of civil suits seeking compensation and treatment for abused children. In a legal deposition, Frey admitted to confronting Gilbert Gauthe, a diocesan priest, about sexual abuse accusations in 1974. According to Frey, Gauthe admitted being guilty of "imprudent touches" with a boy and promised that it was an isolated instance that would not recur. In 1975, Frey appointed Gauthe as chaplain of the diocesan Boy Scouts troop.^[8] Gauthe later confessed to sexually abusing 37 children, though he pleaded not guilty to criminal charges by reason of insanity. Gauthe was ultimately criminally convicted in the first sex-abuse case against the Catholic Church.^[9]

Retirement and death

Pope John Paul II accepted Frey's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette on May 13, 1989.^{[3][better source needed]} He was succeeded by his coadjutor bishop, Harry Flynn. Frey retired to a family compound in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.^[10] His brother Jerome drove to Bay St. Louis to rescue Frey, returning him to Louisiana.^[10]

Frey spent the remainder of his life first at Consolata Nursing Home in New Iberia, Louisiana, and later in a private home in Lafayette provided by the diocese.^[10] Gerard Frey died after a lengthy illness on August 16, 2007, at age 93.^[4] He is buried in the crypt of the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Lafayette.^[4]