James Massa

American prelate

His Excellency, The Most Reverend

James Massa

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn
Titular Bishop of Bardstown

Church

Roman Catholic Church

Archdiocese

New York

Diocese

Brooklyn

Appointed

May 19, 2015

Installed

July 20, 2015

Biography

Early life

James Massa was born on September 3, 1960, in Jersey City, New Jersey to Andrew and Irene Gilbert Massa. Having decided to become a priest, James Massa attended Boston College in Boston Massachusetts, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology and history in 1982. He continued his education at the Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, where he received a Master of Theology degree in 1985.^[1]

Priesthood

Massa was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn at St. Theresa's Church in Woodside New York, on Oct. 25, 1986 by Bishop Francis Mugavero.^[2] After his ordination, the diocese assigned Massa to the following positions:

Assistant pastor at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Forest Hills, New York (1986 to 1990). He was also named during this period as an adjunct professor at Saint John's University in Queens, New York (1987 to 1989)
Chaplain at Queens College, City University of New York in Queens (1990-1993)
Chaplain and professor at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas (1993-1996)
Professor at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts (1997-2001), Massa received his Doctor of Systematic Theology degree from Fordham University in New York City in 1997.
Professor at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Lloyd Harbor, New York, (2001-2005). ^[1]

In 2005, Massa moved to Washington D.C. to serve as the executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. In 2008, after being appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as consultor to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Massa went to Rome. He also served as a member of the Joint Working Group between the Vatican and the World Council of Churches.^[1]

After returned to Brooklyn in 2011, Massa helped coordinated the merger of the three seminaries in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and the Archdiocese of New York. He was assigned in 2012 as a faculty member at Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio named Massa as moderator of the curia for the diocese and administrator of Holy Name Parish in Brooklyn in 2014. ^[1]

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

Massa was appointed titular bishop of Bardstown and auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn on May 19, 2015, by, Pope Francis. He received his episcopal consecration by DiMarzio on July 20, 2015. In 2020, Massa was named rector of Saint Joseph. In addition to English, Massa speaks Spanish and German.^[3]^[4]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Most Rev. James Massa, Ph.D., D.D., Auxiliary Bishop, Rector, St. Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers". Diocese of Brooklyn. 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
^ ^a ^b "Bishop James Massa". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
^ Siemaszko, Corky (May 19, 2015). "Pope Francis promotes 2 NYC priests to auxiliary bishops, will serve borough and Queens' 1.5 million Catholics". NY Daily News. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
^ "Bishop James Massa". Vatican Bulletin. Retrieved September 7, 2015.

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn Official Site

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by –	Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn 2015–present	Succeeded by -

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn

Bishops

Ordinaries: John Loughlin; Charles Edward McDonnell; Thomas Edmund Molloy; Bryan Joseph McEntegart; Francis Mugavero; Thomas Vose Daily; Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio; Robert J. Brennan

Auxiliary bishops: Gerald Barbarito; Anthony Bevilacqua; John Joseph Boardman; Frank Joseph Caggiano; Ignatius Anthony Catanello; Raymond Francis Chappetto; Octavio Cisneros; Joseph Peter Michael Denning; Raymond Augustine Kearney; Charles Richard Mulrooney; George Mundelein; Edmund Joseph Reilly; Paul Robert Sanchez; Guy Sansaricq; John J. Snyder; Joseph Michael Sullivan; René Arnold Valero

Bishops who served as priests in the diocese: Vincent DePaul Breen; Edward Bernard Scharfenberger

Churches

List: List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn

Cathedral: Cathedral Basilica of St. James, Brooklyn

Co-cathedral: Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, Brooklyn

Basilicas: Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Brooklyn; Basilica of Regina Pacis, Brooklyn

Parishes: Church of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Blaise, Brooklyn; Church of the Holy Innocents, Brooklyn; Holy Cross Church, Queens; Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Queens; Our Lady of Mount Carmel; Our Lady of Victory Church, Brooklyn; Queen of All Saints Church, Brooklyn; St. Adalbert, Queens; St. Barbara's Church, Brooklyn; Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Church, Queens; Saint Cecilia's Catholic Church, Brooklyn; St. Michael's Church, Brooklyn; St. Sebastian Church, Queens; St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Queens; Transfiguration, Queens; St. Matthias Church, Queens