Recently, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio approved the creation of a deanery structure to replace the parish clusters within the Diocese of Brooklyn. The clusters were groupings of parishes that worked together to enhance ministry in a particular area through collaborative efforts and the sharing of resources. Priests and parish staff members met together monthly to plan and implement shared programs and support one another. The clusters have existed since the last Diocesan Synod, 14 years ago.

Deaneries are similar to clusters in many ways, but the hope of Bishop DiMarzio is that the deaneries might be able to serve the local parishes and the diocese in additional ways that the clusters could not. The single biggest difference between a deanery and a cluster is the dean. A dean is a priest from the local area, appointed by the bishop, to serve as the bishop’s representative in that local area (deanery). The bishop has created 22 deaneries and has appointed 22 deans. The dean is responsible for looking with a wide vision at the situation of the entire region and encouraging other parish leaders to look at the wider region as well.

The diocese has just gone through a reconfiguration process that attempted to identify and address many temporal and pastoral concerns. The dean will continue to monitor such situations and work with the other pastors and parish leaders to keep the plans on course.

The dean will still be responsible for calling together parish staff and clergy to work toward greater collaboration and the sharing of resources, but he may also invite lay leaders to gather on a deanery level to share pastoral plans, dialogue about changes in the wider neighborhood and propose plans to increase collaboration.

In addition, the dean is asked to support the priests in the deanery. This includes being attentive to clergy who may be ill or elderly but may also include the spiritual support of all clergy. With the recent parish mergers comes more complex assignments for pastors. Couple this with the decrease in the number of priests in general, and the need for a local dean to support priests in their assignments becomes more apparent and more urgent.

The dean will also meet directly with Bishop DiMarzio, both individually and as a group, to share with the bishop the situation on the local level and to assist him in serving the parishes more effectively. Also, there remains a Vicar for Brooklyn and a Vicar for Queens, who are priests assigned by the bishop to oversee the administration of the Church across entire boroughs. The deans will work closely with the vicars to implement plans to strengthen the Church and ensure that all priests are supported, parish staffs work together and the laity are continually informed and called into greater leadership and participation.