Biography of Bishop-elect Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv.
Fr. Gregory John Hartmayer, OFM Conv., son of Sally and the late John W. Hartmayer, was born on November 21, 1951 in Buffalo, New York. Fr. Hartmayer was raised in Tonawanda, New York, a northern suburb of Buffalo and was a member of St. Amelia Catholic Church, where he attended elementary school. Fr. Hartmayer has an older brother C. Douglas, and a younger brother John, both of whom continue to live in Western New York with their families; and sister, Mary Jo Kotacka, who lives with her family in Vienna, Virginia. His mother is living in the family home in Tonawanda, NY.
After graduating from St. Amelia Elementary School, Fr. Hartmayer attended Cardinal O’Hara High School, conducted by the Conventual Franciscan Friars, and graduated in 1969. Upon graduation, Fr. Hartmayer joined the Conventual Franciscan Friars at their Novitiate of St. Joseph Cupertino in Ellicott City, Maryland. He professed his Simple Vows there on August 15, 1970. He then pursued studies at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby, Massachusetts, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in philosophy in 1974. Meanwhile, he professed his Solemn Vows as a Conventual Franciscan Friar on August 15, 1973.
After graduating from college, Fr. Hartmayer was assigned to teach at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1974 through 1975. He then entered theological studies at St. Anthony-on-Hudson Seminary in Rensselaer, New York, earning a Master of Theology degree in 1979. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, D.D., on May 5, 1979, in Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, New York.
Fr. Hartmayer earned a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Counseling from Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1980 and a Master of Education degree in Secondary Catholic School Administration from Boson College in 1992.
After ordination, Fr. Hartmayer was assigned as a guidance counselor to Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, where he later served as Principal from 1985 to 1987. He was appointed Principal at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Tonawanda, New York, for the 1988-89 academic year, and then he became Principal of St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, New York, a position held until 1994.
During the Autumn of 1994, Fr. Hartmayer undertook a three-month sabbatical of studies at the Vatican II Institute in Menlo Park, California. In January of 1995, Fr. Hartmayer was assigned to the faculty at John Carroll High School in Fort Pierce, Florida. On August 15, 1995, Fr. Hartmayer was named Pastor of St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church in Jonesboro, Georgia, where he served in that capacity for 15 years. In July of 2010, Fr. Hartmayer was appointed pastor of St. John Vianney parish in Lithia Springs, Georgia, until being named the fourteenth Bishop of Savannah, GA on July 19, 2011.
Throughout his religious life as a Franciscan, Fr. Hartmayer has held numerous positions as Guardian of friaries in Baltimore, Tonawanda, Athol Springs, Jonesboro, and Lithia Springs. He served on the Definitory of the Province of St. Anthony of Padua, and as a delegate to Provincial Chapters. He has chaired the Province Commissions on Parochial Concerns and Franciscan Life. He has served on the Parochial Advisory Team, conducting visitations of several Franciscan parishes in the Eastern United States. Most recently he was a consultor for the merger of two parishes in the diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts.
While ministering in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Bishop-elect Hartmayer served as member of the College of Consulters, Committee for the Ongoing Education of Priests, Coordinator of the Mentoring Program for newly ordained priests and chairman of the Council of Priests. Most recently he was elected to the National Board of Directors for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy.
The announcement of Pope Benedict XVI’s appointment of Fr. Hartmayer as Bishop-elect of Savannah, Georgia, was made on July 19, 2011. His Episcopal Ordination will take place in the Cathedral of John the Baptist in Savannah, on Tuesday, October 18, 2011, at 2:00 PM by Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Metropolitan Archbishop of Atlanta, Bishop J. Kevin Boland, retiring Bishop of Savannah and Bishop Luis R. Zarama, Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta.
