“In the selection of Bishop Robert Brennan, the Holy Father has called upon a native New Yorker to return to lead the faithful of Brooklyn and Queens.”
From the Vatican this morning:
The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Brooklyn (USA), presented by HE Mons. Nicholas A. DiMarzio.
The Holy Father has appointed HE Mgr. Robert John Brennan, currently Bishop of Columbus (USA), as bishop of Brooklyn.
Curriculum vitae
HE Mons. Robert John Brennan was born on 7 June 1962 in the Bronx, New York, metropolitan archdiocese of the same name. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science from Saint John’s University in Queens and later, he completed his ecclesiastical studies at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington (New York).
He was ordained a priest on May 27, 1989 for the Diocese of Rockville Center.
After ordination he held the following positions: Parish Vicar of Saint Patrick Parish in Smithtown (1989-1994), Private Secretary of the three Bishops of Rockville Center (1994-2002), Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia (2002-2019) and Pastor of Saint Mary of the Isle Parish in Long Beach (2010-2012).
Appointed titular bishop of Erdonia and auxiliary of Rockville Center on 8 June 2012, he received episcopal consecration on the following 25 July. He also maintained the office of Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia.
On January 31, 2019 it was transferred to the Columbus (Ohio) headquarters, taking office on the following March 29.
Below is a short interview he did this morning in Columbus about his new appointment.
The release, from the Diocese of Brooklyn:
The Holy Father, Pope Francis has named the Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan as the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The appointment was announced this morning by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, who turned 75 years of age on June 16, 2019, had submitted his resignation on that date as required by Canon Law. His resignation was accepted today by Pope Francis.
“In the selection of Bishop Robert Brennan, the Holy Father has called upon a native New Yorker to return to lead the faithful of Brooklyn and Queens. On behalf of the Diocese of Brooklyn, I welcome Bishop Brennan who I have known for many years, with confidence in his ability to lead our Catholic community and build upon the pastoral achievements we have made. It has truly been an honor to serve as Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn for 18 years,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.
“This is a historical moment for the Diocese of Brooklyn which is a very active Diocese, and Bishop Brennan’s energy makes him a perfect choice. I ask for God’s blessings on this transition so that the work of God, in service to His people, can effectively continue for the more than 1.2 million Catholics throughout Brooklyn and Queens,” continued Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. “I came to know amazing people in the Diocese of Columbus and there is a tremendous sadness in leaving them behind. As I prepared for a return to New York, I am ready and eager to embrace the people of Brooklyn and Queens as their pastor. Knowing we are loved by Jesus, we will strive to show others his face, bearing the Joy of the Gospel and the Splendor of Truth. In the end, that’s what it is all about – in Columbus, Brooklyn, and around the world,” stated Bishop Robert Brennan, the current Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus.
Bishop Robert J. Brennan was born on June 7, 1962, to Robert and Patricia Brennan in the Bronx and was raised on Long Island, in Lindenhurst, New York. Bishop Brennan attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in Lindenhurst, and St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from St. John’s University in Queens.
Bishop Brennan completed his studies for the priesthood at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on May 27, 1989, by then Bishop John McGann. His first parish assignment was at the Church of St. Patrick in Smithtown. In 1994, he was appointed Secretary to the Bishop, and served in such capacity for three bishops: Bishops John McGann, James McHugh, and William Murphy. He has previously served as the Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Rockville Centre and was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre on July 25, 2012.
Bishop Brennan was appointed the 12th Bishop of Columbus on January 31, 2019 and was installed on March 29, 2019. Among the highlights of his time in Columbus has been the institution of the Diocesan-wide Real Presence, Real Future evangelization and planning initiative, a process involving clergy, lay ecclesial ministers, parish volunteers and the faithful. The objective was to determine the best path forward to increase the presence of the Church in the Diocese of Columbus going forward.
Bishop Brennan has served with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a member of the Committee for Catholic Education, the Administrative Committee, and the Priorities and Plans Committee.
A Mass of Installation for Bishop-Designate Robert Brennan will be celebrated on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 2 p.m. at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Brooklyn.
Ad multos annos!
In the first Stateside move of the Vatican’s new working year, the most significant opening on the current US docket is off the table… and as Mets fans can always use good news, they’re in luck – the new shepherd of Citi Field is already one of their number.
At Roman Noon on this feast of the Archangels, the Pope named Long Island’s own Bishop Robert Brennan – the 59 year-old head of Ohio’s capital church in Columbus – as the eighth bishop of Brooklyn: the US’ fifth-largest diocese, its 1.8 million members comprising the nation’s largest non-metropolitan see.
After less than three years in Buckeye Nation, Brennan succeeds one of the bench’s most formidable players, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who reached the retirement age of 75 in June 2019. Arguably the “central casting” image of a Brooklyn prelate – down to a hard-charging style that’s seen him widely referred to at home as “the czar” – today’s move comes a month after DiMarzio was cleared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of two allegations of sexual abuse dating to the 1970s in his native Newark, making him the only US prelate to date to emerge unscathed from an investigation under Vos estis lux mundi, the 2019 norms for cases of direct abuse or mishandling of cases by bishops. Nick being Nick, however, another piece of his final lap is an even bigger point of pride: never one to shy away from war (and the louder it is, the better), late last year DiMarzio took his longtime nemesis, now-former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to the Supreme Court, winning a unanimous “shadow docket” ruling that knocked out the state’s pandemic capacity limits on church attendance as a violation of religious freedom.
Below is the message Bishop Brennan recorded when he became Bishop of Columbus:
