Louis Gigante: Late priest and brother of mobster Chin Gigante had secret son who inherited $7M fortune
THE BRONX, NEW YORK CITY: It was revealed that a well-known Catholic priest from New York City had a secret son who he raised while accumulating a $7 million fortune. Priest Louis R Gigante, well-known for his civic activities as well as being the brother of mobster Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante, maintained a double life in which he took a vow of celibacy but also came home each night to live with the child he raised in the 1990s.
Gigante resided in the New York City suburb of Westchester with his son Luigino and the boy's mother and traveled into the city to work as a priest at St Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in the Bronx. Gigante also owned a development company that created affordable housing towers and helped him make millions. Following his death in November 2022, he left his fortune to his son Luigino, 32, as per a Daily Mail report.
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'Nothing known beyond rumors'
According to Luigino, his parentage was known to everyone in the church and the community. Despite his father's flamboyant demeanor, Louis was reportedly never removed from the priesthood. "We had a quiet life," Luigino stated, adding "He was proud of me. We did everything together," according to the New York Times. He described his father's contradictory profession as "just another quirky thing." Nothing was known about Gigante's son "beyond rumors," a representative of the Archdiocese of New York told NYT.
'Priests who have children leave priesthood'
According to the spokesperson, when priests violate their celibacy vows and produce an heir, they normally voluntarily quit the church. "While each case would be evaluated and addressed on its own merits, a priest who fathers a child would be expected to provide support for the child and mother," the spokesperson stated. "In general, though, priests who have children leave the priesthood, usually voluntarily." Despite assertions to the contrary, Luigino claimed a family friend of his father told him the church confronted Gigante after the birth. "After you were born, your father was called down," Luigino stated the friend recalled to him, "They asked me if I had a son, and I said, 'Yeah,' and left. And that's that."
'People felt he was just such great guy'
Friends of Gigante theorized that the church ignored the offense because of his stature in the neighborhood. "People felt he was just such a great guy, he did so much for the community," said former colleague Peter Cantillo. In 1968, the priest established the South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO), sometimes known as SEBCO, which built inexpensive housing in dilapidated areas of the Bronx. "It was common knowledge - no one really blinked about it," Cantillo added.
'I was no secret'
Luigino claimed that his father made no attempt to conceal him and frequently introduced him to people in an open manner. According to Luigino, his father would say, "This is my son, in whom I am well pleased." "I was no secret" he added.
'I didn't take a vow of poverty'
As president of SEBCO, Gigante received a salary of $100,000, which over time amounted to a multi-million dollar fortune. Additionally, he managed several related development firms that catered to the SEBCO buildings and generated considerable profits for him. "I didn't take a vow of poverty," Gigante claimed in a 1981 profile in the NYT. "People think I don't get paid and that I'm a saint for doing it. That's their problem." Father Gigante was accused of abusing a boy and a girl who were both 10 years old in the 1960s and 1970s in 2021. He claimed to be innocent but died before the case could be resolved, Daily Mail reported.
