Bishop Lawrence Persico of Erie was a student at St. Joseph Preparatory School in Unity Township when the late Monsignor Giuseppe De Andrea taught there and was headmaster.
After serving various ministries in the Diocese of Greensburg (1958-1981), including being pastor at St. James Church in Salem Township, Monsignor De Andrea returned to his native Italy. He was installed as a bishop there, then Titular Archbishop of Anzio, and was appointed by Pope Paul II to serve as apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Yemen and Bahrain.
Bishop Persico, as a monsignor and vicar general of the Diocese of Greensburg, was pastor of St. James Parish from 1997 to 2012 when he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Erie.