| |
Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius A. Catanello
Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius A. Catanello, Regional Bishop of the 44 parishes in the Queens South Vicariate, is the Episcopal Vicar for Evangelization and Spiritual Development.
When he was raised to the episcopacy in l994, he brought to his new ministry
wide experience as an Episcopal Vicar for the Queens South Vicariate,
prep seminary administrator, college educator and ecumenist.
It was Bishop Catanello's involvement in interfaith and interreligious
activities for a decade as chairman of the diocesan Ecumenical Commission
that prepared him for an appointment as a consultant to the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee on Interreligious Dialogue.
His particular emphasis is on Catholic-Islamic conversations among leaders
of both faiths ministering in the eastern part of the U.S.
Also in his activities outside the Diocese of Brooklyn is his service
as the episcopal moderator of the National Association of Holy Name Societies, based in Baltimore.
Born in Brooklyn July 23, 1938, one of two sons of Mary and the late
Nicholas Catanello, Bishop Catanello attended Most Holy Trinity School,
Williamsburg, and Bushwick High School.
After high school he spent a year at the novitiate of the Order of
Recollects of St. Augustine in Kansas City, Kansas, before returning
to Brooklyn for studies at Cathedral College.
Continuing his education at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, he
earned a bachelor's degree there, later enrolling at Immaculate
Conception Seminary in Huntington, L.I., to study for the priesthood.
On May 28, 1966, in St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn, Archbishop
Bryan J. McEntegart ordained him for priestly service, and he
ministered successively in the parishes of St. Rita's, Long Island
City; St. Helen's, Howard Beach; St. Ann's, Flushing, and Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge.
Named an Episcopal Vicar for the Queens South Vicariate in l988—
and a monsignor in l989, he served in that work until 1991 when he
was named principal of Cathedral Prep in Elmhurst.
Three years later, on June 28, 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed
Msgr. Catanello and Father Gerald M. Barbarito (now Bishop of Ogdensburg)
Auxiliary Bishops. They were ordained to the fullness of the priesthood in
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Bay Ridge on Aug. 22. Bishop Catanello
as also named the Titular Bishop of Deulto.
Throughout his early priesthood Bishop Catanello pursued graduate degrees,
earning a master's in both theology and counseling from St. John's University
and a doctorate in religious studies from New York University.
For 27 years he taught theology at St. John's as an adjunct professor,
and the university honored him with its President's Medal in l975 and
an honorary doctorate of law in l989. He has also received the Distinguished
Service Award of LaGuardia College in Long Island City, recognizing his work
with the school in its early years.
In the mid-'70s, he was president of both the diocesan Priests' Senate
and the Priests' Councils of New York.
Auxiliary Bishop Guy A. Sansaricq
Born in Jeremie, Haiti, Oct. 6, 1934, into a devout Catholic family, Auxiliary Bishop Guy A. Sansaricq decided at age 13 that he wanted to become a priest. He attended the seminary of the Jeremie Diocese for five years, after which he received a scholarship to St. Paul's Pontifical Seminary in Ottawa, Canada, where he studied philosophy and theology for seven years. In l960 he was ordained a priest in the cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
After ordination he was assigned to the cathedral is Les Cayes, but after a year he was assigned by his bishop to serve as chaplain for Haitian immigrants in the Bahamas, ministering from the Benedictine Priory of St. Francis in Nassau. In seven years in that work, he became aware of the plight of immigrants, and especially undocumented immigrants.
When he completed his work in the Bahamas, he was given a scholarship to study social sciences at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received a master's degree in l971.
In that same year, he was accepted to serve in the Diocese of Brooklyn and was assigned to Sacred Heart parish in Cambria Heights, where he served for 22 years. During that time, he was appointed diocesan coordinator of the Haitian Apostolate. In l987 he was selected by the U.S. bishops to head the National Haitian Apostolate.
In l993, he was named pastor of St. Jerome's Church in Flatbush, where he has continued to minister. He was named a Prelate of Honor by Pope John Paul II in l999.
Bishop Sansaricq's involvements include publishing a quarterly newsletter on Haitian matters concerning the Church, conducting a pastoral institute in Creole that attracts 90 students annually and organizing an annual convention of the Haitian Apostolate, and coordinating an annual retreat for priests and a yearly youth congress. He is also a co-founder of Haitian-Americans United for Progress, a service agency.
Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros
Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros was born in Las Villas, a province of Cuba, on July 19, 1945, the third of four children of Roberto Cisneros and Olga Lezcano, both now deceased. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to La Habana, where he was baptized in Our Lady Montserrat Church.
The Piarist Fathers educated him as a youngster, and in October 1961, while a high school student, he came to the United States as a political refugee as part of Operation Peter Pan, a Catholic humanitarian effort that brought 14,000 unaccompanied minors to the U.S. from Cuba.
Relocated to Marquette, Mich., he attended and graduated from St. Paul High School in Negaunee, Mich. He went on to St. Lawrence Minor Seminary, Mount Calvary, Wisc., where he earned an Associate Arts degree, and Niagara University, where he received a bachelor's degree.
Bishop Cisneros's first year of theology studies took place at DeSales School of Theology in Washington, and he completed his theological studies at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I., earning a master's in divinity degree. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero May 29, 1971.
For the first eight years of his priesthood, he served as parochial vicar at St. Michael's Church, Sunset Park. In l979 he was named diocesan coordinator of the Hispanic Apostolate and eight years later was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona.
His subsequent appointments were as an Episcopal, or Territorial, Vicar in the Brooklyn East Vicariate and as rector of Cathedral Seminary Residence in Douglaston. He was named a Prelate of Honor by Pope John Paul II in l988.
Bishop Cisneros's activities have included associations with the Northeast Catholic Center for Hispanics, the "Instituto Nacional Hispano de Liturgia," the board of governors of Immaculate Conception Seminary, the Bishop's Committee on the Liturgy, the Pastors' Advisory Committee and the Conference of Diocesan Directors for the Spanish Apostolate, which he served as president.
He serves as vice-postulator of the Cause for Canonization of the Servant of God Felix Varela, a Cuban priest who served in New York for almost 30 years, ministering to Irish immigrants in the early part of the 19th century. The bishop is a founding member and president of the Felix Varela Foundation.
Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano
Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano was born in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn March 29, 1959, the second of two children of Arnaldo and Gennarina Caggiano, both of whom came to this country in 1958 from the town of Caggiano in the province of Salerno, Italy. His father died in 2002.
The bishop studied at SS. Simon and Jude School in Gravesend; Regis High School in Manhattan; Cathedral College, Douglaston, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero May 16, 1987.
After ordination, he served in two Brooklyn parishes---St. Agatha's in Bay Ridge and St. Athanasius in Bensonhurst---before beginning five years of graduate studies in sacred theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in l991. He earned a doctorate in l996. When he returned to the Diocese he served at St. Jude's parish in Canarsie and then as pastor of St. Dominic's parish in Bensonhurst.
After an appointment as director of the Permanent Diaconate Office in 2002, he was named by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio in 2004 to serve as Vicar for Evangelization and Pastoral Life, which includes the Diaconate Formation Office, the Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission, the Liturgy Office, the Pastoral Institute, the Office of Faith Formation, the Pastoral Planning Office, the SS. Peter and Paul Spirituality Center and the San Vincente de Paul Centro de Evangelizacion.
He was named a Papal Chaplain by Pope John Paul II in 2003.
Bishop Caggiano has written for two Catholic newspapers: seven scripture columns for The Tablet and nine articles on theological and spiritual issues for the Hartford Transcript. His doctoral dissertation, "The Eschatological Implications of the Notion of Recreation in the Works of St. Cyril of Alexandria," and "The Exaltation of Christ: The Meaning of 'At the Right Hand' in the New Testament," were published by Gregorian University.
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan is a renowned and respected national leader in Catholic social services whose work in that ministry for over four decades has contributed substantially to Brooklyn Catholic Charities' rankin as the largest Catholic human service agency in the country.
Equally astute in health care needs and issues, he played an instrumental role in the formation of
St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers, which joined the hospitals and related facilities of the Diocese
with similar institutions conducted by the New York Sisters of Charity.
Within the Brooklyn Diocese, Bishop Sullivan held the titles of Vicar for Human Services and Regional
Bishop for the 62 parishes of the Brooklyn West Vicariate.
Born March 30, 1930, one of 11 children of the late Thomas and Margaret Sullivan, who lived in Bay Ridge,
Bishop Sullivan attended St. Ephrem's School and St. Michael's Diocesan High School, both in Brooklyn, and Manhattan College.
In l950 he began studies for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, L.I., and
was ordained June 2, 1956, by Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy in St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn.
After a three-year period as a newly-ordained priest at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Queens Village,
he was assigned to study social work and in l961 he earned a master's degree from the
Fordham University School of Social Work.
In that same year he was appointed assistant director of Catholic Charities' child care division and four
years later was named the director.
When Bishop Francis J. Mugavero became the Diocesan Bishop in l968, he chose then–Father Sullivan to succeed him as the executive director of Catholic Charities and appointed him Secretary
to the Ordinary for Charities. He was elected executive vice-president of the board of trustees of Catholic Charities in l979.
In the following year, on Oct. 7, 1980, he was one of three Brooklyn priests named Auxiliary Bishops by
Pope John Paul II. The others were Msgr. Anthony J. Bevilacqua and Father Rene A. Valero. Bishop–elect
Sullivan was also given the title of Titular Bishop of Suliana.
Late the following month, on Nov. 24, the episcopal ordination of the three new bishops took place in
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Bay Ridge, with Bishop Mugavero as the ordaining bishop and
Auxiliary Bishop Charles R. Mulrooney and Bishop John J. Snyder of St. Augustine assisting.
Over the years, Bishop Sullivan, who has a master's in public administration from New York University,
has served on numerous Church and civic boards concerned with health and human services on the
national, State and local levels. These have included the chairmanship of the Catholic Medical Center
of Brooklyn and Queens and membership on the board of Catholic Charities USA.
Also included in his activities outside the Diocese has been his service as chairman of the Social Development and World Peace Department of the United States Catholic Conference.
In the late 1990s he chaired an ad hoc committee that produced a pastoral letter on charity — "In
All Things Charity: A Pastoral Challenge for the New Millennium" — approved by
the U.S. bishops in November, 1999. He said the message was intended "to reclaim the meaning of charity,"
which he said had become a pejorative term in modern society.
Before entering Manhattan College in l948, Bishop Sullivan spent a Summer in Georgia pitching for the
Americus Phillies of the Georgia–Florida League. Despite his affection for the game, he told a
reporter that it was "a boring life," opting instead for higher education and eventually the priesthood.
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Rene A. Valero
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Rene A. Valero, the Diocese of Brooklyn's first bishop of Hispanic heritage, served as vicar for Elderly and Racial Concerns and Regional Bishop for the 56 parishes of the Queens North Vicariate.
The youngest of three sons of Venezuelan parents —
Caesar and the late Maria (Cordova) Valero, both born in Caracas —
he has also influenced the development of Hispanic ministry in the Diocese since the mid-1970s.
Born in the West Harlem section of Manhattan Aug. 15,1930, he attended St. Joseph's School there and Sacred Heart Mission House, Girard, Pa., before beginning seminary training at Cathedral College, Brooklyn.
He completed his preparation for the priesthood at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I., and
was ordained June 2, 1956, by Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy in St. James Cathedral, Brooklyn. His first
assignment was to St. Michael–St. Edward's parish in Fort Greene for a year, followed by three years at St. Agatha's, Bay Ridge.
In 1960 he began studies in social work at Fordham University School of Social Service, earning a master's
in 1962. For the next 12 years he served at Catholic Charities first at the Family Service Office and
then as Kings County director before becoming the first director for the Office for the Aging.
From 1974 until 1980 he was coordinator of the diocesan Spanish Apostolate, during which he also served
as chairman of the board for the Northeast Hispanic Pastoral Center. In June 1979, he was named the pastor
of Blessed Sacrament Church, Jackson Heights.
Late in 1980 Pope John Paul II appointed him, along with Msgr. Anthony J. Bevilacqua and Father Joseph
M. Sullivan, an Auxiliary Bishop, the announcement made Oct. 7. He was given Vicar Turris as his Titular
See.
The Episcopal ordination for the three took place Nov. 24 in Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Bay Ridge. Bishop Francis J. Mugavero was the ordaining prelate, assisted by Auxiliary Bishop Charles R. Mulrooney and Bishop John J. Snyder of St. Augustine.
Bishop Valero remained as pastor of Blessed Sacrament after his Episcopal ordination, then in 1983 he
was appointed by Bishop Mugavero to direct the Catholic Migration and Refugee Office, a position he held
until 1991.
Shortly after Bishop Thomas V. Daily became Brooklyn's sixth bishop in 1990, he established the diocesan
Committee on Racial Harmony and appointed Bishop Valero to chair it. Under his leadership, the committee
has elevated consciousness on the evil effects of racism by sponsoring then annual convocations featuring prominent speakers, conducting parish hearings and arranging discussions in parochial schools.
Reflecting on the evolving ethnic and racial mix in the Diocese, Bishop Valero says, "only a welcoming
attitude and an understanding of the people who will move into our neighborhoods will make for an easy
and peaceful absorption of newcomers."
In addition to his diocesan activities, he has served on several bishops' committees.
|
