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Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli;
Names Father Kevin Sweeney of Diocese of Brooklyn as Successor
April 15, 2020
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Arthur J. Serratellii from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Paterson and has named Father Kevin Sweeney, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn as Bishop-elect of Paterson. He will become the Diocese of Paterson’s eighth Bishop.
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Arthur J. Serratellii from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Paterson and has named Father Kevin Sweeney, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn as Bishop-elect of Paterson. He will become the Diocese of Paterson’s eighth Bishop.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, publicized the appointment in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 2020.
Bishop Serratelli was installed as the Diocese of Paterson’s seventh bishop on July 6, 2004 and served as Bishop for nearly 16 years.
Bishop-elect Sweeney was born on Jan. 17, 1970 in Elmhurst, Queens and grew up in Whitestone, Queens. His parents, the late James P. Sweeney and the late Agnes Blewitt were both born and raised in County Mayo, Ireland. Agnes came to New York in 1951 and James in 1963. They were married in St. Bartholomew’s Church in Elmhurst, N.Y. in 1967 and moved to Whitestone in 1971.
Bishop-Elect Sweeney attended St.Luke’s Parochial School in Whitestone and Cathedral Preparatory High School in Elmhurst. He graduated from St. John’s University in Jamaica, N.Y., with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1992 and received a master’s degree in Divinity from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, Long Island in 1997. Bishop-Elect Sweeney was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn by the Most Reverend Thomas V. Daily at St. James’ Cathedral on June 28, 1997. He was assigned as Parochial Vicar to St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish in Jamaica, where he served until June of 2003. He was then assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Corona, where he served for a year. Rev. Sweeney was named as the Vocation Director of the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio in June of 2004. In January 2010, he was named Pastor of St. Michael Parish in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where he continues to serve.
The date of Bishop-elect Sweeney’s episcopal ordination as the eighth Bishop of the Diocese of Paterson has not been scheduled due to the pandemic. Bishop Serratelli will serve as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Paterson until that time.
