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Brooklyn's New Bishop, Robert Brennan, Celebrates St. Patrick's Day Mass Before NYC Parade

Diocese Brooklyn
March 17, 2022

Mayor Eric Adams, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop Edmund Whalen. Photos & Video: Courtesy DeSales Media

The Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, celebrated St. Patrick’s Day Mass this morning at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan. The Bronx born, Long Island raised new Bishop of Brooklyn traces his Irish ancestry to his maternal grandfather, who arrived in New York in 1927 from County Sligo, located in the Ireland province of Connacht.

- St. Patrick’s work has come a long, long way. Look right here in New York and think of your own parents and grandparents. Think of the religious sisters and of generations of priests and missionaries, joyfully proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and promoting human dignity - preached Bishop Brennan.

“So, it is a great day for a parade, maybe a little wet but a great day for the parade. Parades and processions are a literal expression of what you and I should be doing – and are doing – every single day: bringing our faith to the streets, into the community. We hold up St. Patrick. We carry the Cross of Christ, and in a joyful, celebratory way, with pipes and drums, music and dance, the heart of what it is supposed to be about today is proclaiming Jesus Christ joyfully and effectively to the wider society, sharing the good news and the freedom that is found in Christ and in living His Gospel and seeing the dignity of every human person,” said Bishop Brennan.

Bishop Brennan was previously scheduled to deliver the Homily at today's Mass. However, as a result of the absence of Cardinal Dolan due to his mother’s passing, Bishop Brennan was the main celebrant of the St. Patrick’s Day Mass.

Mass livestream: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3xqqceujuE

ABOUT BISHOP ROBERT J. BRENNAN

Bishop Brennan, who was born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, was installed as the Eighth Bishop of Brooklyn on November 30, 2021. A graduate of St. John’s University, Bishop Brennan holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in mathematics and computer science. He studied for the priesthood at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. He was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 1989, where he was first assigned to St. Patrick in Smithtown. He was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre on July 25, 2012. On March 29, 2019, Bishop Brennan was installed as the Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus.