The Most Reverend Pedro Bismarck Chau, D.D., was born on June 28, 1967, in Managua, Nicaragua, the son of the late Camilo Arturo Chau and Luisa Amanda Lainez. He is the youngest of seven children and immigrated to the United States in 1984. In 2025, he was appointed the first Nicaraguan-born bishop in the United States.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Seton Hall University (2004), followed by both a Master of Arts in Theology and a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. Later, in recognition of pastoral needs in counseling, he obtained a master’s degree in professional counseling from Seton Hall University (2021). He was ordained to the priesthood for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark on May 24, 2008.

Throughout his ministry, Bishop Chau has served in various pastoral and administrative capacities in the Archdiocese of Newark. He was parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Virgin, Garfield; associate director of CYO and Youth and Young Adult Ministry; assistant director of vocations; campus minister at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the Newman Center at Rutgers–Newark; and pastor of St. John’s Church and St. Patrick Pro-Cathedral. Additionally, he was a member of the Priest Personnel Board and, since 2020, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

Beyond parish ministry, Bishop Chau has served on the Archdiocesan Council of Priests; as chaplain to the pastoral ministry with the Deaf; as a representative for the V Encuentro; as an adjunct professor at Immaculate Conception Seminary; and as chaplain to the Order of Malta in New Jersey. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

On May 30, 2025, Pope Leo XIV named him Titular Bishop of Catrum and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. His episcopal ordination was celebrated on September 8, 2025, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., presiding. Bishop Chau serves as Regional Bishop of Hudson County, overseeing its parishes and institutions.

Coat of Arms

Blazon: Argent on a triple mound issuant in base Sable a Latin cross Azure charged with a fleur-de-lis Argent; on a chief wavy Azure flanked by oak leaves Argent a human hand coupled with the first two fingers raised in an attitude of benediction Or. Shield ensigned with an episcopal cross Or behind the shield and a bishop’s galero Vert cords and twelve tassels disposed in three rows of one, two and three all Vert. On a scroll below the shield, the motto: “Dios Es Mi Fuerza” (God is My Strength).

Explanation: The armorial bearings of Bishop Bismarck Chau reflect his family name, his Baptismal patron, the country of his birth and his ministry. The shield is composed primarily of the colors blue and white. These are the colors of the flag of Nicaragua, where the bishop and his family originate. In the lower portion of the shield on a silver (white) background, we see rising from the bottom of the shield a mound of three black hillocks. The three stylized hills represent that Nicaragua is known as a land of volcanoes. The hills create a kind of stylized mountain, and the black color represents the black volcanic ash.

In addition, this stylized mound of rocks is also a nod to St. Peter, whom Jesus called “the rock” on which He would build His church. Pedro (Peter) is the Bishop’s baptismal name. The black color of the rocks also has another meaning. The Chau–or Zhou–dynasty in China, from which the family name is derived, was known for establishing an extensive system of bronze metal-working. The black color emulates the dark color of bronze and so pays tribute to the Bishop’s family name.

Rising from the mound is the blue cross of faith, charged with a silver (white) fleur-de-lis. The Bishop sees this as symbolizing the fact that he is who he is because of Christ, because he died on the Cross to give us life and made us all into a new creation. The cross not only symbolizes salvation and freedom, but also strength. God gave Jesus the strength to carry his cross to the end. The fleur-de-lis has long been used in heraldry as a symbol of Our Lady. Mary was also a source of strength for Jesus, at Calvary especially, so the “M” symbolizes Mary at the foot of the Cross. It is worth noting that of all the symbols of Our Lady that could have been chosen the fleur-de-lis was used because it is a heraldic charge that also appears in the coat of arms of Pope Leo XIV who appointed Bishop Chau to the episcopacy as well as the coat of arms of Cardinal Tobin, whom the Bishop will serve and support by his own episcopal ministry. Thus, it honors those two figures important in the life of Bishop Chau.

The upper third of the shield, called a “chief,” is separated from the rest by a wavy line representing water. The water alludes to Nicaragua being also known as a land of lakes, and is also symbolic of the waters of Baptism through which we all pass to become part of the Body of Christ. On this chief, we see a gold (yellow) colored hand in blessing. This is symbolic of the divine blessing on all the Bishop’s endeavors. Gold is a color often used in heraldry to evoke divinity. In addition, this divine hand in blessing is also an allusion to the Bishop’s work with the Deaf Community. American Sign Language uses the hands arranged in different gestures to communicate. The hand is flanked by two silver (white or gray-ish) oak leaves. These are borrowed directly from the coat of arms of Bismarck as a representation of the Bishop’s given middle name, which he most often uses and by which he is most commonly known and called.

The motto below the shield is taken from Isaiah 49:5, saying (in Spanish), “Dios Es Mi Fuerza,” which in English translates to “God is My Strength.”

The shield is also ensigned with those external ornaments that indicate the bearer is a bishop. The gold (yellow) episcopal cross, not to be confused with a processional cross, is placed vertically behind and extending above and below the shield. In former times, archbishops, and later all bishops, had a cross mounted on a staff carried immediately in front of them while in procession or on solemn occasions. This cross was a symbol of their rank as bishop. While such an episcopal cross is no longer used practically, it has been retained heraldically. In fact, there are other clerics who make use of the ecclesiastical hat with its many tassels, but the one true heraldic emblem of a bishop, and the only essential one, is the episcopal cross placed behind the shield.

Above the shield is the ecclesiastical hat, called a galero, which, in heraldry, replaces the martial helmet, mantling and crest. “The hat with six pendant tassels (green, purple or black) on each side is universally considered in heraldry as the sign of prelacy. It, therefore, pertains to all who are actually prelates.” (Heim, Bruno B., Heraldry in the Catholic Church, 1978, page 114) The galero is green with green cords pendant from it and twelve green tassels arranged in a pyramid shape on either side of the shield. At one time in history, bishops and archbishops wore green before adopting the more Roman purple we see today. In heraldry, the green hat and tassels were retained for prelates with the rank of bishop according to the Instruction of the Secretariat of State, “Ut Sive” of March 1969.

The armorial bearings of Bishop Bismarck Chau were designed, blazoned and rendered by the Rev. Guy Selvester, a priest of the Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey, June 2025.