Octavio Cisneros
Encyclopedia
Octavio Cisneros is a Cuban American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He currently serves as an auxiliary bishop
of the Diocese of Brooklyn
, and is also Titular Bishop
of Eanach Dúin
, a province of
Cuba
, to Roberto Cisneros and Olga Lezcano. He and his family moved to Havana
shortly after his birth. He studied under the Piarist Fathers
as a child and, while a high school
student in October 1961, came to the United States
as a political refugee
as part of Operation Peter Pan
. Relocated to Marquette
, Michigan
, he attended St. Paul High School
in Negaunee
.
Cisneros then studied at St. Lawrence Minor Seminary
in Mount Calvary
, Wisconsin
, from where he obtained an Associate of Arts degree, and at Niagara University
, earning a Bachelor's degree
. He studied theology
at DeSales School of Theology in Washington, D.C.
and at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, New York
, earning a master's in divinity degree.
to the priesthood
by Bishop Francis Mugavero
on May 29, 1971. For the first eight years of his priesthood, he served as parochial vicar
at St. Michael's Church in Sunset Park
. In l979, he was named diocesan coordinator of the Hispanic
Apostolate and eight years later was appointed pastor
of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona
.
His subsequent appointments were as an Episcopal Vicar
in the Brooklyn East Vicar
iate and as rector
of the Cathedral
Seminary
in Douglaston
. He was raised to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness
by Pope John Paul II
in l988. In 2004, he was named Secretary
for Priestly Formation in the diocesan chancery
.
of Brooklyn
and Titular Bishop
of Eanach Dúin
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
.
He serves as vice-postulator
of the cause for canonization
of Félix Varela
, who is currently a Servant of God
.
Cuban American
A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...
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....
, and is also 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 Eanach Dúin
Bishop of Annaghdown
The Bishop of Annaghdown is an episcopal title which takes its name after the small village of Annaghdown in County Galway, Ireland....
Early life and education
The third of four children, Octavio Cisneros was born in Las VillasVilla Clara Province
Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering with the Atlantic at north, Matanzas Province by west, Sancti Spiritus by east, and Cienfuegos on the South. Villa Clara shares with Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus on the south the Escambray...
, a province of
Provinces of Cuba
Administratively, Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and one special municipality not included in any province. The last modification was approved in August 2010 , splitting Havana province into two new provinces: Artemisa and Mayabeque...
Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, to Roberto Cisneros and Olga Lezcano. He and his family moved to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
shortly after his birth. He studied under the Piarist Fathers
Piarists
The Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools or, in short, Piarists , is the name of the oldest Catholic educational order also known as the Scolopi, Escolapios or Poor Clerics of the Mother of God...
as a child and, while a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
student in October 1961, came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a political refugee
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
as part of Operation Peter Pan
Operation Peter Pan
Operation Peter Pan , was an operation coordinated by the United States government , the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, and certain Cubans. Between 1960 and 1962, over 14,000 children were sent from Cuba to Miami by their parents...
. Relocated to Marquette
Marquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, he attended St. Paul High School
St. Paul High School
St. Paul High School can refer to:Canada*St. Paul High School in Nepean, Ontario*St. Paul High School in Niagara Falls, OntarioIndia*St Paul's High School, Hyderabad, Andhra PradeshUnited States...
in Negaunee
Negaunee, Michigan
Negaunee is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,576 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the southwest corner of Negaunee Township. The city is home to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum...
.
Cisneros then studied at St. Lawrence Minor Seminary
St. Lawrence Seminary High School
St. Lawrence Seminary High School is a preparatory high school operated by the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order at Mount Calvary, Wisconsin. The school is within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee...
in Mount Calvary
Mount Calvary, Wisconsin
Mount Calvary is a village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 956 at the 2000 census, up from 558 residents from the 1990 census.-Holyland:...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, from where he obtained an Associate of Arts degree, and at Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
, earning a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
. He studied 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 DeSales School of Theology in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, New York
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 in divinity degree.
Priesthood
Cisneros 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....
to 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....
by Bishop Francis Mugavero
Francis Mugavero
Francis John Mugavero was the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn...
on May 29, 1971. For the first eight years of his priesthood, he served as parochial vicar
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. Michael's Church in Sunset Park
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Sunset Park is a neighborhood in the western section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. It is bounded by Greenwood Heights to the north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south, and Upper New York Bay to the west...
. In l979, he was named diocesan coordinator of the Hispanic
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
Apostolate and eight years later was appointed 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 Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Corona
Corona, Queens
Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...
.
His subsequent appointments were as an Episcopal Vicar
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
in the Brooklyn East 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...
iate and as rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
Seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
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...
. He was raised to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness
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 l988. In 2004, he was named Secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
for Priestly Formation in the diocesan chancery
Curia (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholicism, a curia consists of a group of officials who assist in the governance of a particular Church. These curias range from the relatively simple diocesan curia, to the larger patriarchal curias, to the Roman Curia, which is the central government of the Catholic Church.Other...
.
Episcopal career
On June 6, 2006, Cisneros 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
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....
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 Eanach Dúin
Bishop of Annaghdown
The Bishop of Annaghdown is an episcopal title which takes its name after the small village of Annaghdown in County Galway, Ireland....
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...
.
He serves as vice-postulator
Postulator
The person who guides a Cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church is known as the postulator. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the Norms to be Observed in Inquiries made by Bishops in the...
of the cause for canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
of Félix Varela
Félix Varela
Félix Varela y Morales was a notable figure in the Roman Catholic Church in both Cuba and the United States.-Life:Varela was born in Havana, Cuba and died in St. Augustine, Florida, United States...
, who is currently a Servant of God
Servant of God
Servant of God is a title given to individuals by various religions, but in general the phrase is used to describe a person believed to be pious in his or her faith tradition. In the Catholic Church, it designates someone who is being investigated by the Church for possibly being recognized as a...
.