DOUGLASTON — The Diocese of Brooklyn on June 3 installed longtime pastors to lead five deaneries and incardinated three priests who were already serving local parishes.
Bishop Robert Brennan conducted the dual rites of dean installations and incardination following a Eucharistic Holy Hour at the chapel of the Immaculate Conception Center (ICC) in Douglaston.
The ceremony was held prior to the June 2026 Pastors Meeting, also held at the ICC.
Under Canon Law, a bishop organizes neighboring parishes into regions called “deaneries.” The bishop also appoints a senior priest, or “dean”, to be his liaison to the deanery with administrative and pastoral support.
“Brothers,” Bishop Brennan said to conclude the ceremonies, “welcome aboard.”
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Applause ensued from the attendees, many of them diocesan priests who came for the pastors’ meeting.
The installation of deans usually takes place during a solemn Mass, but this time, Bishop Brennan chose a Holy Hour.
“We’ve done it in different ways at different times,” Bishop Brennan said. “Basically, what you want to do is something along the lines of a gathering of the people who are going to be collaborating most.
“In this case, it’s the pastors.”
There are 22 deaneries in the diocese, evenly split, with 11 each in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.
The deans who were installed on June 3, and their deaneries (Q for Queens, B for Brooklyn, with identifying numbers) are:
- Father Thomas Pettei (Q6), pastor of Resurrection Ascension-Our Lady of the Angelus Parish in Middle Village. He has served numerous parishes in the diocese, including St. Matthias in Ridgewood and Holy Cross in Maspeth.
- Father Frank Shannon (Q10), pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea and St. Gertrude, Far Rockaway. He previously was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Cypress Hills.
- Father Paul Anel (B3), pastor of St. Paul and St. Agnes in Cobble Hill. He is from France, but he has also served in St. Edward’s Parish in Fort Greene (since closed), Divine Mercy Parish in Williamsburg, and the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn.
- Father Ikenna Okagbue (B7), pastor, St. Jude Shrine Parish in Canarsie. He was born in Nigeria.
- Father Brian Dowd (B9), St. Patrick Parish in Bay Ridge. He is also the pastor of Queen of Angels Parish in Sunnyside.
Incardinated priests are clergy who were originally ordained in other dioceses or a religious order but were subsequently called to assignments in another diocese.
Under incardination, the bishop of their original diocese releases them from his jurisdiction, and the bishop of the receiving diocese agrees to accept them.
The newly incardinated priests are:
- Father Cesar Peña, from Colombia, parochial vicar for St. Bartholomew Parish in Elmhurst. He has also served similar roles at St. Joseph in Astoria and Blessed Sacrament in Jackson Heights.
- Father Johnson Chanassery, parochial vicar for St. Joan of Arc Parish in Jackson Heights. Born in India, he has also served as parochial vicar for St. Leo Parish in Corona.
- Father Franklin Ezeorah, who came from Nigeria, is the parochial vicar for St. Martin de Porres Parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Bishop Brennan noted that the diocese conducts pastor meetings three or four times during “the rhythm of the year.”
“We always begin with prayer,” he said. “And we always begin with the Holy Hour, so here was an opportunity to do the installation of deans, and to welcome the newly incardinated priests.
“We did it this way because we have already gathered in prayer.”
