Columbus Catholic Bishop Robert J. Brennan, installed as the 12th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus in March 2019, has been named by the Vatican as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Pope Francis appointed Brennan, 59, to the Brooklyn diocese, and it was announced Wednesday morning through Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
January 2019:Robert J. Brennan named Columbus’ new bishop by Pope Francis
“I have been very happy here in Ohio and am heartbroken that I will be leaving,” Brennan said in a statement. “I came to know amazing people here, and there is tremendous sadness leaving you behind.”
The Vatican has yet to announce his local replacement, and he will lead the Columbus diocese until Nov. 30. If a new bishop still has not been named, a diocesan administrator will be elected to lead until that time.
The current bishop of Brooklyn, the Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio, retired at 77 after a Vatican investigation cleared him of sexual abuse allegations, according to Associated Press reports. Two men accused him of abuse, which he denied, but the Vatican said in September that they didn’t have “the semblance of truth.”
Bishops typically retired at 75, which is why the 11th bishop of Columbus, the Rev. Frederick Campbell, retired in early 2019, making way for Brennan to serve Columbus.
DiMarzio tweeted about his retirement on Wednesday, voicing confidence in Brennan.
Many in the Diocese of Columbus have remarked on how personable and approachable Brennan was, and also enjoyed that he spoke Spanish.
Brennan had recently announced a two-year campaign in the Columbus Diocese, called Real Presence, Real Future, to reimagine how the diocese can better serve its people with the resources it has. The diocese called this effort the “hallmark” of Brennan’s time in Columbus.
The Rev. Michael Hartge, moderator of the curia for the Columbus diocese and leader of the campaign, said efforts will continue.
Hartge said the campaign is a hallmark of Brennan’s time in the diocese because he wanted to respond to what he was hearing from the priests locally, of the need of a “real, all-encompassing plan for the future.”
And, his desire to hear as many voices on that future as possible, Hartge said.
Brennan also made an impact on Hartge, who joined the diocesan offices a year ago after serving as a parish priest in Perry county, personally.
“Working with him has been one of the greatest joys and pleasures of my priesthood,” Hartge said. “At his heart, he is just a real father. He has real concerns for his priests, for leading the people of the diocese.”
Brennan’s leadership was a great example for Hartge, he said.
“His humility, his care and concern for people, that will stick with me for a long time,” said Hartge, who was surprised to hear Brennan was leaving after two and a half years.
“When he came, there were people who would talk,” Hartge said, and say, because Brennan came from Rockville Centre, that he was a “big fish in a small pond.”
“Some people were saying he won’t be here long,” Hartge said. “But we were still hoping he’d be here a lot longer.”
During his tenure, Brennan made strides to look into priest sexual abuse of minors. In early 2020, Brennan hired a law firm to audit diocesan files and see if any other priests should be added to the diocese’s list of those credibly accused of abuse, which the diocese released in March 2019.
He also began a task force to examine diocesan policies related to sexual abuse and how the diocese reaches out to survivors to help them heal.
Installation Mass:New Bishop Robert Brennan says he hopes to help Columbus create a legacy of faith
“I need to know for my own conscience that I’m doing the best I can,” Brennan said in January 2020. “I think it also protects people who’ve looked at it in the past; it’s somebody objective looking at it.”
He also broke precedent in January. After two Black men were killed locally by Columbus officers in December Brennan released public statements on racial justice. Bishops in Columbus had not previously spoken on the topic, but bishops in other dioceses had.
Read more: Columbus’ Catholic bishop, Robert J. Brennan, is outspoken on race, engages with fellow faith leaders
Brennan led the diocese through COVID-19, dispensations for Masses and then reopening many churches with precautions.
He almost made it to all 105 parishes in the 23-county diocese in the year he served before the pandemic began, Hartge said. And, Brennan handled the pandemic “expertly,” in Hartge’s opinion.
“What was so expert about it was his very frequent communication to the priests, to parish administrators and to schools through all these different channels,” Hartge said.
Brennan was born and raised in New York and his family still lives there. He served in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, on Long Island, for nearly 30 years before he was named the bishop of Columbus.
Bishop Brennan column:Respect for human dignity must be at heart of actions, moral principles
The Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior minister at First Congregational Church Downtown, worked with Brennan in an interfaith capacity and had met with him one-on-one.
“Bishop Brennan has been a wonderful spiritual presence within Columbus’ interfaith community,” Ahrens said in a statement. “He will be truly missed.”
Hartge agreed.
“We’re going to miss him very much,” he said. “He’s someone who touched our hearts very genuinely and very quickly.”
dking@dispatch.com
@DanaeKing
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