New Auxiliary Bishops Ordained for the Diocese of Brooklyn

Today, at 2 p.m., the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, will ordain two new bishops for the Church in Brooklyn and Queens at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, 856 Pacific Street, Prospect Heights. Pope Francis appointed the Very Reverend James Massa, 54, and the Reverend Canon Witold Mroziewski, 49, as auxiliary bishops of Brooklyn in May.

Co-consecrating bishops will be the Most Reverend William Murphy, Bishop of Rockville Centre, and the Most Reverend Raymond Chappetto, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn and Vicar General for the Diocese. They will be joined by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States; His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York; His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop-Emeritus of Washington, D.C.; His Excellency Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See Mission to the United Nations; His Excellency Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia; in addition to over 28 archbishops and bishops from across the United States and the world, including Bishop Artur Mizinski, Secretary General of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, and Archbishop-Emeritus Juliusz Paetz of the Archdiocese of Poznan.

“Each of our two new Auxiliary Bishops brings special gifts to the office to which they have been called. Bishop Massa has spent most of his priestly life in the teaching ministry, while Bishop Witold Mroziewski also has given many years of his relatively young life to the service of the Diocese of Brooklyn, giving special attention to the Polish-speaking people of Brooklyn and Queens,” said Bishop DiMarzio. “Our new Auxiliary Bishops will join those who already labor in our Diocese, accommodating the spiritual needs of our faithful through their ministry of preaching, administering of the sacraments and living their lives for others.”

“The Holy Father’s appointment is deeply humbling, especially when I focus on myself and my own fears and limitations,” said Bishop Massa. “But when I focus on Christ the Good Shepherd, I feel strength of one whose perfect love casts out all fear and works through us, as priests and bishops, to bring great healing and joy to people’s lives. It is a great gift from God to share in this apostolic ministry for the faithful of Brooklyn and Queens.”

“I wish to extend my most sincere gratitude to our Holy Father Pope Francis, for his trust in appointing me to the historic vibrant See as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn,” said Bishop Mroziewski. “This is a gift, which despite my human weakness and brokenness, I will take upon with faith. As I said I am all yours and I promise to give all that I have and all that I am in God’s service.”

Click here for photos and the complete biographies of the new bishops.

They join Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto, Vicar General; Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros, Vicar for Hispanic Concerns and pastor of Holy Child Jesus, Richmond Hill; Auxiliary Bishop Paul Sanchez, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Forest Hills; and retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq, pastor emeritus of St. Gregory the Great in Crown Heights, in assisting Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio to serve the nearly 1.5 million multi-cultural Catholics who reside in Brooklyn and Queens.

The diocesan network New Evangelization Television (NET TV) will provide live coverage of the Ordination, which will also be live streamed on www.netny.tv. NET TV is a cable network featuring news and information with a Catholic point of view, and is available in the New York area on Time Warner Cable, Channel 97, Cablevision, Channel 30, and nationally on Verizon FiOS On Demand.

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