Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has embarked on a journey that will take him to each of the 22 newly formed parish deaneries during this pastoral year, 2016-2017. A deanery is a grouping of parishes near one another that cooperate and work together on special projects.

At each meeting, the bishop will celebrate Mass with the priests of the area and then meet with clergy, parish leaders and staffs to answer questions about deanery activities in the diocese.

While Bishop DiMarzio will be present at the majority of these sessions, Auxiliary Bishops Raymond Chappetto and Neil Tiedemann will cover some sessions, as needed.

Dedication to Collaboration

At his first Mass, hosted by Brooklyn Deanery No. 8, Bishop DiMarzio thanked all those in attendance for their hard work and dedication toward collaboration efforts among that area’s parishes. There were 17 deanery priests concelebrating and about 150 lay leaders in attendance from all eight deanery parishes.

The parishes and pastors present were: Holy Spirit, Borough Park, Father Jose Lopez; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sunset Park, Father James Gilmour, C.Ss.R.; St. Agatha, Sunset Park, Father Vincentius Do; St. Catharine of Alexandria, Borough Park, Father Freddy Cintron; St. Frances de Chantal, Borough Park, Father Andrzej Korowski, S.A.C.; St. Michael, Sunset Park, Father Kevin Sweeney, dean; St. Rosalia – Regina Pacis, Bensonhurst, Msgr. Ronald Marino; and St. Rose of Lima, Parkville, Father Lukasz Trocha.

Msgr. Joseph Grimaldi, episcopal vicar for Brooklyn, thanked Father Sweeney, for his leadership over the past three years.

After Mass, Bishop DiMarzio, Msgr. Grimaldi, Father Sweeney and Ana Puente, pastoral support specialist, answered questions at a town hall meeting. Many lay leaders expressed their enthusiasm and shared some of their suggestions for future collaborative opportunities.