Manuel Aurelio Cruz

Manuel Aurelio Cruz (born December 2, 1953) is a Cuban-born American Catholic prelate who has served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey since 2008. He survived an assault at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in 2017.

Biography

Early life Manuel Cruz was born in Havana, Cuba, on December 2, 1953, to Juan and Caridad Cruz. The Cruz family immigrated to the United States from Cuba in 1966 after the Cuban Revolution. The Cruz family lived in Florida before settling in Union City, New Jersey. In his youth, Manuel Cruz spent eight years working in the emergency department at Saint James Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.

Cruz entered Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, finishing with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. He then studied at the Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University, earning a Master of Arts in sacred scripture.

Coat of arms Cruz's coat of arms is composed of a shield and a scroll with his motto and external ornamentation. Cruz's arms, which occupy the entire shield, are composed of a silver field with a red Latin cross superimposed by a blue M for Mary. The shield is completed by the external ornamentation of a Catholic bishop, a gold processional cross behind it and a green galero. The galero has a green cord and six tassels on each side of the shield.