Pope Francis appoints Long Island auxiliary bishop to lead diocese in Ohio

A Rockville Centre diocese auxiliary bishop with close ties to the Hispanic community was appointed by Pope Francis as the 12th bishop of Columbus, Ohio, church officials said Thursday.

Robert J. Brennan, born in the Bronx and raised in Lindenhurst, said in a statement that he was driving on the Long Island Expressway on Jan. 19 when he received word of the appointment, just a day before Brennan would travel to World Youth Day in Panama. 

The pope made that appointment official in a news release Thursday.

Brennan, 56, who often celebrates Mass in Spanish at Nassau County jail, said in the statement that he was "honored and humbled that the Holy Father extended this call to serve the Lord in a new way.” 

Brennan, in the statement, added: “I will always love Long Island and its people. I have been blessed to minister to the people of the Diocese of Rockville Centre for 30 years and am thankful for the opportunities that has presented. But the Holy Father has asked me to serve as Bishop of Columbus and I look forward to getting to know the Diocese of Columbus and the people there.”

Rockville Centre Bishop John Barres in a statement said: “Bishop-designate Robert Brennan has a blend of holiness, missionary fire, humility, intelligence and pastoral experience that will serve the mission of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Columbus in an extraordinary way.”

Brennan has worked closely with the Hispanic community on Long Island, Barres said, shepherding it "through the tragic experience of gang violence and constantly advocating for comprehensive immigration reform."

The bishop-designate views the experience of Catholic education "as a critical component of the New Evangelization that requires an intentional and strategic approach to Catholic identity and mission, academic excellence, enrollment and retention, marketing and advancement, and board development," Barres said.

In Ohio, Brennan replaces Bishop Frederick F. Campbell, who was installed in 2005, the Columbus diocese said on its website. Canon law requires bishops to submit resignation letters to the pope when they turn 75 years old. Campbell, a native of Elmira, New York, did so last year, according to published reports.

Brennan graduated from West Islip's St. John the Baptist High School and earned a bachelor of science in mathematics and computer science from St. John's University in Queens before undertaking ecclesiastical studies at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, the Holy See said in a statement.

His posts include parish vicar at St. Patrick's in Smithtown, special secretary to three bishops of Rockville Centre, vicar general of the Curia, and parish priest of the St. Mary of the Isle parish in Long Beach, the statement said.

In 2012, he was appointed titular bishop of Italy's Erdonia and auxiliary of Rockville Centre, the Holy See said.

Describing World Youth Day, Brennan said: "It was all about connection, encounter: encounter with pilgrims around the world, encounter with the Holy Father, and encounter with Jesus Christ Himself."

In a video statement to the people of the Diocese of Columbus, Brennan said, "The appointment by the Holy Father to be your bishop is an incredible honor. I thank the Lord for this call and beg His help that I may serve you faithfully and well.

"I look forward to meeting you in the days and weeks ahead. I promise my heart, my soul and everything I have that we may share the Joy of the Gospel and the Splendor of Truth. May God bless you and your families today and always. Please know that I am praying for you every day and I ask that you please pray for me."

With Zachary R. Dowdy