BISHOP BRENNAN LEADS FUNERAL MASS FOR MONSIGNOR JOHN E. DELENDICK,
BELOVED PRIEST, FDNY CHAPLAIN

Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, served as the main celebrant at the funeral Mass of Reverend Monsignor John E. Delendick, a retired priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, today at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, located at 856 Pacific Street in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn.

The funeral Mass was attended by hundreds of firefighters from the Fire Department of New York and other jurisdictions, dozens of priests, Brooklyn Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio, and Archbishop Charles Balvo, the Apostolic Nuncio (Pope’s representative) to Australia and classmate of Monsignor Delendick.

FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh was among those who offered remarks about Monsignor Delendick’s service to the Department. FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens, former Commissioners Daniel Nigro and Salvatore Cassano, were also in attendance. Monsignor Richard Ahlemeyer, Pastor of St. Camilius – St. Virgilius in the Rockaway Park section of Queens offered a moving tribute in his Homily.

74-year-old Monsignor John E. Delendick passed away on Thursday, November 23, 2023, after a long battle with 9/11 related cancer, due to his time at Ground Zero responding as a New York City Fire Department Chaplain in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Monsignor Delendick served as a Chaplain for the FDNY since 1996.

“Monsignor John Delendick led an incredible life of service to God and His people. Throughout his 40 years as a parish priest and administrator in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Monsignor Delendick brought the faith of God to the hearts and minds of countless individuals.  He truly was a disciple of the Lord, caring, loving, and praying for the people he encountered in the best and worst of times. May he now receive his eternal reward for his goodness,” said Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn.

Born on September 4, 1949, Monsignor Delendick was ordained to the Priesthood on February 12, 1977. In his more than 40 years as a priest, he served the Diocese of Brooklyn as Pastor of the Shrine of Saint Jude (Brooklyn), and the Parishes of Saint Agnes and Sacred Heart Chapel (Brooklyn), and Saint Michael (Brooklyn).

Monsignor Delendick also served as Administrator of the Parishes of Saint Ann and Saint George (Brooklyn); and as Parochial Vicar of the Parishes of Good Shepherd (Brooklyn) and Saint Catherine of Genoa (Brooklyn). Monsignor Delendick was also a Diocesan Real Estate Board Member, Professor at the Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary and was a member of the Priests’ Purgatorial Society.

On February 8, 2003, Monsignor Delendick was named Chaplain of His Holiness.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 8, 2023

BISHOP BRENNAN CELEBRATES MASS MARKING THE 120^TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR LADY OF CHARITY IN BROOKLYN

Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn celebrated a special Mass marking the 120^th Anniversary of Our Lady of Charity Roman Catholic Church, located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, this morning, Sunday, October 8, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.

“We look today to our parish anniversary, to our celebration right here. We look at the growth and development of this community of faith, this people of faith. We remember the roots as an Italian parish, founded by an oppressed people which has grown and now represents this beautiful area of Brooklyn. The vineyard of the Lord is right here in Bedford-Stuyvesant comprised of the beautiful people in this community,” said Bishop Robert Brennan.

“This is the place where we can lay our fears at the foot of the Cross. Think about these 120 years of Our Lady of Charity, think of the different generations that have come here, through two world wars to pray for loved ones serving abroad. Through all kinds of racial strife and struggle, and the fight for Civil Rights, people came to this neighborhood church to turn to God for hope beyond all hope,” continued Bishop Brennan.

Our Lady of Charity first celebrated Mass in 1903 to accommodate the influx of Italian immigrants who settled in the community. Mass was originally celebrated in a converted animal stable. The parish was officially designated in 1908, and the present Church opened in 1914.

The NYPD’s 77^th Precinct was outside after Mass as part of “National Faith & Blue Weekend” which strives to build safer communities by developing relationships between law enforcement officers and local residents by means of faith-based organizations.

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VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/872360054

The photos attached and the video is courtesy of John Quaglione/DeSales Media.

POPE FRANCIS ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF BROOKLYN DIOCESE
AUXILIARY BISHOP NEIL TIEDEMANN

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Neil Tiedemann, C.P., Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The resignation was publicized earlier today in Washington, D.C., by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

As required by Canon (Church) law, at the age of 75, all bishops must submit a letter of resignation from the ecclesiastical office they hold. It is then a determination of the Holy See when to accept the resignation.

“I am grateful for Bishop Tiedemann’s many years of dedicated service here in Brooklyn and Queens. Bishop Tiedemann has had extraordinary experience beyond the boundaries of our Diocese and therefore was able to enrich us with his knowledge, passion, and dedication to the Church and its people,” said the Most Reverend Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn.

“Throughout my priesthood, I have been blessed, and I am so grateful. I thank Bishops DiMarzio and Brennan for their kindness, support, and encouragement. Of my 48 years as a priest, I have spent 21 here in the Brooklyn Diocese. I am thankful to my brother priests for their friendship. Most importantly, I have been blessed by the wonderful people of our diocese. They make you the priest that you are because they encourage and strengthen you. They teach you so much about life and actually become the face of God in your life,” said the Most Reverend Neil Tiedemann.

Bishop Tiedemann, born on March 5, 1948, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was raised in St. Catherine of Sienna Parish in Franklin Square, Long Island. He attended the Passionists’ Holy Cross High School Seminary in Dunkirk, New York, and Holy Family Seminary in West Hartford, Connecticut. In 1970, Tiedemann received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from LaSalle University. In 1975 he earned two master’s degrees in Theology and Divinity from St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens. As a seminarian, Tiedemann was involved in outreach efforts with Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens near St. Barbara Parish in Bushwick.

Bishop Tiedemann entered The Passionists, officially the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, in 1970 and professed perpetual vows on Aug. 22, 1974. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1975, in the Brooklyn Diocese by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero. The bishop’s first assignment was as a parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Jamaica, Queens, from 1975-1982, where he continued his outreach work with Catholic Charities.

Bishop Tiedemann went on to serve at the largely Hispanic parishes of St. Joseph & Michael in Union City, New Jersey, and Blessed Sacrament in Springfield, Massachusetts. He also ministered in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, between 1987 and 1994, where he helped found an AIDS hospice called Casa Pasionista.

One of the joys of Tiedemann’s priesthood has been the opportunity to serve between 1998 and 2005 at Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the parish where his grandparents were married. While he served there, he oversaw the 150th-anniversary celebration of the parish.

In 2006, Tiedemann was elected to the Provincial Council of the Passionist Congregation. Two years later, Pope Benedict XVI named him the third Bishop of Mandeville, Jamaica.

After eight years of serving on the island of Jamaica, Tiedemann returned home to Brooklyn. He was installed as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Brooklyn in August 2016. In 2020, he was named Episcopal Vicar of Brooklyn. Tiedemann currently serves as pastor of St. Matthias Parish in Ridgewood, Queens, and serves as the Director of the Diocese of Brooklyn Ministry to Caribbean and Black Catholics.

The Most Reverend Neil Tiedemann will now serve as an Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Brooklyn, effective immediately.

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Photo Courtesy: DeSales Media

USCCB Press Release: https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-auxiliary-bishop-neil-tiedemann-cp

Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, joined the Polish communities of numerous parishes in Brooklyn this morning to bless the faithful’s Easter food baskets. The Polish tradition includes colorful baskets filled with items such as eggs, meat, sweets, and bread. The food has special significance and is typically blessed on Holy Saturday and enjoyed on Easter Sunday.

“It was important for me to be with the Polish community on Holy Saturday to share in the joy of their rich heritage. During Lent, we fasted because we love Jesus, and now we get to celebrate His glorious Resurrection. It was wonderful to see so many families come out with their beautiful baskets to ask for God’s blessings. In my best Polish, I told them, Szczęść Boże, God Bless you,” said Bishop Robert Brennan.

Video of blessings:  https://vimeo.com/815905567 / Courtesy: DeSales Media

:00-:57    St. Stanislaus Kostka – 607 Humboldt Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

:58-1:47  St. Frances de Chantal – 1273 58^th Street, Borough Park, Brooklyn

1:48-2:37 Our Lady of Czestochowa-St Casimir Parish – 224 24th St, Park Slope, Brooklyn

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Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, will mark this year’s Easter Triduum, the holiest days of the Christian calendar, with a number of Masses, prayer services, and a Good Friday procession beginning tomorrow night, Holy Thursday, April 6, 2023, and continuing through Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023.

Members of the media are invited to attend any of the following:

Thursday, April 6, 2023
7:30 P.M. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper and the Washing of the Feet
The Cathedral Basilica of St. James, 250 Cathedral Place in Downtown Brooklyn

*Live coverage on the Diocesan cable channel, NET TV is available on Spectrum channel 97, Optimum channel 30, and Verizon Fios channel 548, or online at netny.tv

Good Friday, April 7, 2023

10:00 A.M. – The Way of the Cross Good Friday Procession
Starting at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James and continuing over the Brooklyn Bridge

3:00 P.M. – The Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion
Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, 856 Pacific Street in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

*Live coverage on the Diocesan cable channel, NET TV is available on Spectrum channel 97, Optimum channel 30, and Verizon Fios channel 548, or online at netny.tv

Saturday, April 8, 2023

10:00 A.M. Blessing of Easter Food Baskets with the Polish community
St. Frances de Chantal (in Polish) – 1273 58^th Street, Borough Park, Brooklyn

11:30 A.M. Blessing of Easter Food Baskets with the Polish community
St. Stanislaus Kostka (English and Polish) 607 Humboldt Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

8:00 P.M. The Great Easter Vigil
The Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, 856 Pacific Street, Brooklyn

*Live coverage on the Diocesan cable channel, NET TV is available on Spectrum channel 97, Optimum channel 30, and Verizon Fios channel 548, or online at netny.tv

Sunday, April 9, 2023

11:00 A.M. Easter Sunday Mass
Cathedral Basilica of St. James, 250 Cathedral Place, Brooklyn

*Live coverage on the Diocesan cable channel, NET TV is available on Spectrum channel 97, Optimum channel 30, and Verizon Fios channel 548, or online at netny.tv

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