When Father Kevin Sweeney became the bishop of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, in 2020, he bid farewell to the Diocese of Brooklyn after serving 20 years as a priest here. The transition did not mean, however, that he stopped looking to his longtime home for ideas and inspiration in his own diocese.
When Dennis Morales, longtime member of St. Michael’s Church, died in 2012, his wife Linda was desperate to do something in his memory. The NYPD captain had grown up a few blocks away from the parish, and it was there that Linda went to confide with then-pastor Father Kevin Sweeney.
The words of an exiled Nicaraguan bishop at a first-time retreat for Spanish-speaking priests in New Jersey were “personally very inspiring” and “reassured my priesthood,” said Father Bismarck Chau, pastor of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
Bishop Kevin Sweeney smiles when he remembers his reaction to the phone call he received in March of 2020 from a Vatican official, calling to say Pope Francis was naming him the new bishop of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey.
Scott Milliken has seen a lot of people come through the doors at the Father English Center’s food pantry during his years as CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, but not like the numbers since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March.
The director of food pantries for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Paterson said the number of people coming for food “is just staggering.” “Throughout the last three months, we have helped more people that any time before in our 80-year history,” Carlos Roldan said in a statement July 13.
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney was ordained a Bishop and installed as the eighth leader of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J.
Father Kevin Sweeney, who has been appointed by Pope Francis to serve as the eighth bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, will officially assume his new role on July 1.
Father Kevin Sweeney, pastor of St. Michael’s parish in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and now bishop-elect of the Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey, is making a big transition during a very turbulent time.
JANUARY 17, 1970: Kevin Sweeney is born to James and Agnes Sweeney in Elmhurst, Queens.
