By Tablet Staff

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — In his last official act as New York City Fire Commissioner, Daniel Nigro swore in Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello (inset) as the Bravest’s newest chaplain on Monday at the FDNY headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn.

“If you want something done, give it to a busy person,” Msgr. Gigantiello said. “Really the most important things that I do are priestly things, being there for people, ministering to them in times of tragedy and suffering, and I always make time for that.”

Msgr. Gigantiello, who is the pastor at Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Williamsburg, is also the vicar for development for the diocese and oversees the Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens,  Futures In Education, and the Emmaus Center.

He joins seven other chaplains in the FDNY.

“It doesn’t matter what the families were, our Catholic chaplains were up there helping them even though these families were members of the Islamic faith. The religious community is always there for the people of the city,” Commissioner Nigro said, referencing last month’s tragic apartment building fire in the Bronx. “I couldn’t picture the department existing without chaplains.”

Commissioner Nigro, 73, was scheduled to retire Feb. 16 after serving 53 years with the FDNY. He was appointed commissioner in 2014 by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“We’re known to be right now a divided city but when it comes to tragedy and people suffering we are so united,” Msgr. Gigantiello said. “We come together … and it doesn’t matter what faith you are because we all believe in one God and we unite our forces and let people know you’re not alone.”