Frank Joseph Caggiano
Encyclopedia
Frank Joseph Caggiano is an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He currently serves as an auxiliary bishop
of the Diocese of Brooklyn
.
section of Brooklyn
, New York
, to Arnaldo (d. 2002) and Gennarina Caggiano. His parents were Italian
immigrants
who came to the United States
from the town of Caggiano
, in the province of Salerno
, in 1958. The youngest of two children, he has a sister, Antoniette.
He attended Ss. Simon and Jude Elementary School in Gravesend and graduated from Regis High School
in Manhattan
in 1977. He then entered Yale University
as a political science
major, but later decided to enter the priesthood
. In 1978, he entered Cathedral College
in Douglaston
, from where Caggiano obtained a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy
summa cum laude
in 1981.
After working as a sales
representative for the Gregg division of McGraw Hill Publishing Company
for 18 months, he studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington
, earning a Master's degree in Divinity
.
a priest by Bishop Francis Mugavero
on May 16, 1987, and then served as associate pastor
at St. Agatha Church in Bay Ridge
and at St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst
until 1991. He then furthered his studies in Rome
at the Pontifical Gregorian University
, earning a doctorate in theology
in 1996; his thesis
was entitled: "The Eschatological
Implications of the Notion of Recreation in the Works of St. Cyril of Alexandria
."
Upon his return to the Diocese of Brooklyn
, Caggiano became associate pastor of St. Jude Church in Canarsie
in 1996, also serving as Dean
of Formation for the Permanent Diaconate
Program and Censor Librorum
for the Diocese. He became pastor
of St. Dominic Church in Bensonhurst in 1998, and concurrently taught theology
at St. John's University's Staten Island campus
and at St. Joseph's College. He was named director of the Permanent Diaconate Office in 2002, and later Vicar
for Evangelization and Pastoral Life in 2004. He was raised to the rank of Papal Chaplain
by Pope John Paul II
in 2003.
of Brooklyn and Titular Bishop
of Inis Cathaig
by Pope Benedict XVI
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following August 22 from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
, with Bishops Thomas Daily
and Ignatius Catanello
serving as co-consecrators
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He currently serves as an auxiliary bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of the Diocese of Brooklyn
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes territory that was previously part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, was established as a separate diocese in 1853 when the City of Brooklyn was separate from New York City....
.
Early life
Frank Caggiano was born in the GravesendGravesend, Brooklyn
Gravesend is a neighborhood in the south-central section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA.The derivation of the name is unclear. Some speculate that it was named after the English seaport of Gravesend, Kent. An alternative explanation suggests that it was named by Willem Kieft for the...
section of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, to Arnaldo (d. 2002) and Gennarina Caggiano. His parents were Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
immigrants
Immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants,...
who came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from the town of Caggiano
Caggiano
Caggiano is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy....
, in the province of Salerno
Province of Salerno
The Province of Salerno is a province in the Campania region of Italy.-Geography:The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 139,579; Cava de' Tirreni with a population of 53,488; Battipaglia with a population of 51,115; and Nocera Inferiore which has a...
, in 1958. The youngest of two children, he has a sister, Antoniette.
He attended Ss. Simon and Jude Elementary School in Gravesend and graduated from Regis High School
Regis High School (New York City)
Regis High School is a private Jesuit university-preparatory school for academically gifted Roman Catholic young men located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Annual class enrollment is limited to approximately 135 male students from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut tri-state area...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1977. He then entered Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
as a political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
major, but later decided to enter the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
. In 1978, he entered Cathedral College
Cathedral Preparatory Seminary (Queens)
Cathedral Preparatory Seminary is a private, Roman Catholic high school and seminary in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn...
in Douglaston
Douglaston, Queens
Douglaston, population 14,168 , is a community in the New York City borough of Queens. Douglaston comprises six distinct neighborhoods: Doug Bay, Douglas Manor, and Douglaston Hill, all located north of Northern Boulevard on the peninsula abutting Little Neck Bay; Douglaston Park, located between...
, from where Caggiano obtained a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy
Bachelor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Philosophy is the title of an academic degree. The degree usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects...
summa cum laude
Latin honors
Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...
in 1981.
After working as a sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
representative for the Gregg division of McGraw Hill Publishing Company
McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
for 18 months, he studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington
Huntington, New York
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, USA. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan...
, earning a Master's degree in Divinity
Master of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
.
Priesthood
Caggiano was ordainedHoly Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a priest by Bishop Francis Mugavero
Francis Mugavero
Francis John Mugavero was the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn...
on May 16, 1987, and then served as associate pastor
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at St. Agatha Church in Bay Ridge
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. It is bounded by Sunset Park on the north, Seventh Avenue and Dyker Heights on the east, The Narrows Strait, which partially houses the Belt Parkway, on the west and 86th Street and Fort Hamilton on...
and at St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
until 1991. He then furthered his studies in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
at the Pontifical Gregorian University
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy.Heir of the Roman College founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola over 460 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first university founded by the Jesuits...
, earning a doctorate in theology
Doctor of Sacred Theology
The Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
in 1996; his thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
was entitled: "The Eschatological
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
Implications of the Notion of Recreation in the Works of St. Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He came to power when the city was at its height of influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries...
."
Upon his return to the Diocese of Brooklyn
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes territory that was previously part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, was established as a separate diocese in 1853 when the City of Brooklyn was separate from New York City....
, Caggiano became associate pastor of St. Jude Church in Canarsie
Canarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18....
in 1996, also serving as Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of Formation for the Permanent Diaconate
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
Program and Censor Librorum
Censor Librorum
In the Roman Catholic Church, the Censor Librorum is an ecclesiastical authority charged with reviewing texts and granting the nihil obstat. The Latin Censor Librorum translates as "censor of books."...
for the Diocese. He became pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of St. Dominic Church in Bensonhurst in 1998, and concurrently taught theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at St. John's University's Staten Island campus
Notre Dame College (New York)
Notre Dame College was a small Catholic women's college located in the Grymes Hill area of Staten Island, New York. It opened in 1933 and merged with St. John's University in 1971....
and at St. Joseph's College. He was named director of the Permanent Diaconate Office in 2002, and later Vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
for Evangelization and Pastoral Life in 2004. He was raised to the rank of Papal Chaplain
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in 2003.
Episcopal career
On June 6, 2006, Caggiano was appointed Auxiliary BishopAuxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Brooklyn and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Inis Cathaig
Inis Cathaig (titular see)
Inis Cathaig is a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.-History:Inis Cathaig has its basis in the Scattery Island Cathedral and monastery, an early Christian place of pilgrimage, where St Senan, Bishop and confessor, founded a monastery, in the Shannon estuary, 5 km southwest of...
by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following August 22 from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio
Nicholas DiMarzio is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the seventh and current Bishop of Brooklyn, having previously served as Bishop of Camden from 1999 to 2003.- Early life :...
, with Bishops Thomas Daily
Thomas Vose Daily
Thomas Vose Daily was the sixth Roman Catholic bishop of Brooklyn from 1990 to 2003 and since then has been Bishop Emeritus of the Brooklyn Diocese.-Early life and ordination:...
and Ignatius Catanello
Ignatius Anthony Catanello
Ignatius Anthony Catanello is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. From 1994 to 2010 he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn.-Early life:...
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.