FATHER MYCHAL JUDGE MEMORIAL AWARD
Presented in memory of Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M. The Franciscan priest and chaplain of the New York City Fire Department was a source of spiritual inspiration to New York’s Bravest. He gave his life ministering to others on Sept. 11, 2001.

Msgr. Kieran E. Harrington, vicar for communications for the Diocese of Brooklyn, is receiving the Father Mychal Judge Memorial Award.

He is the president and chairman of the DeSales Media Group, Inc., a full service media company, which includes NET-TV, a cable television station; The Tablet newspaper; a technology division; and ecclesiastical public relations.

He also hosts “In The Arena,” a weekly series on WOR radio, with world-renowned guests, intense debates and compelling interviews covering various topics and social opinions from a Catholic cultural perspective.

Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn on June 2, 2001, he was appointed by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio to his current position in December, 2006. Pope Benedict XVI elevated him to the rank of Papal Chaplain with the title of Reverend Monsignor on Sept. 3, 2009.

He traces his roots straight back to the Emerald Isle. His mother hails from Tubbercurry, County Sligo, and his paternal grandparents were natives of Templemore, County Tipperary, and Abbeyleix, County Laois. His paternal grandfather, an Irish Republican Army volunteer, was imprisoned in Portlaoise during the Irish Civil War.

He attended Cathedral Prep Seminary, Elmhurst, and graduated cum laude from St. John’s University, Jamaica, with a philosophy degree.

Msgr. Harrington earned a master of divinity degree from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, L.I., and a master’s in business administration from the N.Y.U. Stern School of Business.

He is currently the rector of St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, Prospect Heights.