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Returning to New York is a homecoming for new Brooklyn Bishop Robert J. Brennan

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Members of the student orchestra of St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School in West Islip, N.Y., Bishop Robert J. Brennan’s alma mater, played holiday music outside the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn as people arrived to witness the installation Mass of Brooklyn’s eight bishop Nov. 30.

Bishop Brennan, 59, previously the bishop of Columbus, Ohio, succeeds Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, 77, whose retirement became effective Sept. 29, the day Pope Francis named Bishop Brennan to lead the diocese. Bishop DiMarzio was Brooklyn’s shepherd for 18 years.

“I must admit, coming back this way, there is something familiar, even comfortable,” Bishop Brennan told reporters ahead of his installation.

He is a native New Yorker who was born in the borough of the Bronx and raised in Lindenhurst, in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, where he was an auxiliary bishop from 2012 until his appointment to Columbus in 2019.

Ahead of the Mass Bishop Brennan knocked on the doors of the co-cathedral and was received by its rector and the rector of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James.

Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Raymond F. Chappetto, vicar general, presented Bishop Brennan with a crucifix to be kissed. Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Neil E. Tiedemann then presented him with the aspergillum, the liturgical implement used to sprinkle holy water, first on himself and then on those present.

After Bishop DiMarzio welcomed everyone to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York greeted the faithful. He invited Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States of America, to read the apostolic letter on the pope’s appointment Brooklyn’s new shepherd.

Bishop Robert J. Brennan sits in the cathedra, or bishop’s chair, during his installation Mass as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 30, 2021, at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn. Bishop Brennan, 59, previously the bishop of Columbus, Ohio, succeeds Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, 77, whose retirement became effective Sept. 29, the day Pope Francis named Bishop Brennan to lead the diocese. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

After the reading, Bishop Brennan showed the letter to the college of consultors, the chancellor, the curia and the congregation.

Bishop Brennan sat in the cathedra, or bishop’s chair, and was presented with the crozier. The new shepherd of a diocese with more than 1.3 million Catholics then greeted various representatives of the diocese, both clergy and laity.

Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Pierre presided at the installation Mass, which was celebrated by Bishop Brennan. Bishop DiMarzio was among the concelebrants.

“The whole world is found here in Brooklyn and in Queens,” Bishop Brennan said in his homily. “Every language, every nationality. We are truly the diocese of immigrants.”

“Together with the joy of the Gospel, we are all called to be like Andrew and work together to share the good news, to tell others about Jesus; to share the loaves and the fish that we have, so that God will use what we have and miracles will take place,” he said. “Each community renews and reinvigorates this local church with the freshness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, N.J., was in attendance along with 45 bishops, more than 300 priests and 100 deacons.

The congregation numbered about 1,800, and included the new Brooklyn bishop’s parents, Patricia and Robert, who is a retired NYPD officer, and other family members.

His nephew Tom Brennan told New York’s CBS2 that seeing his uncle installed in Brooklyn was “a very special opportunity” because the family has seen him “become a priest, and then a monsignor, then an auxiliary bishop and now he’s the bishop of Brooklyn.”

Bishop Brennan, whose episcopal motto is “Thy Will Be Done,” has pledged to strengthen the Catholic schools and academies in Brooklyn and Queens, and work with and support the immigrant communities. He does speak Spanish.

The prelate also said he wants to focus on evangelizing Catholics through various means of communication and social media.

Among the highlights of his time in Columbus was the institution of the diocesan-wide “Real Presence, Real Future” evangelization and planning initiative, a two-year process involving clergy, lay ecclesial ministers, parish volunteers and the faithful. He also traveled regularly to meet and engage people in that diocese’s 23 counties.

When Pope Francis named him to head the Brooklyn Diocese, he said he was “ready and eager to embrace the people of Brooklyn and Queens as their pastor. Knowing we are loved by Jesus, we will strive to show others his face, bearing the joy of the Gospel and the splendor of truth.”

On the national level, Bishop Brennan has served as a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee as well as a member of the bishops’ Catholic education and priorities and plans committees.

When his successor was named, Bishop DiMarzio called the appointment “a historic moment for the Diocese of Brooklyn which is a very active diocese, and Bishop Brennan’s energy makes him a perfect choice.”

“I ask for God’s blessings on this transition,” he said, “so that the work of God, in service to his people, can effectively continue” for the Catholics of Brooklyn and Queens, the two New York boroughs that make up the diocese.

Writing his last column for The Tablet. Brooklyn’s diocesan newspaper, the now-retired bishop said: “As my journey comes to an end as the seventh bishop of Brooklyn, I am filled with thankfulness in all we have accomplished together during these past 18 years.”

“Still, we need to continue to put out into the deep and not be afraid. Continue fishing for that encounter with Jesus, despite day-to-day routine as well as our sufferings,” he said in the Nov. 27 column. “We should continue to focus our lives around him, use our God-given gifts in service to others, and live the Gospel. In doing so, he will never abandon us.

“Please know that I will remember each and every one of you in daily prayer and in the celebration of the Eucharist.”