{{short description|American Catholic bishop (born 1970)}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = | honorific-prefix = His Excellency, The Most Reverend | name = Kevin J. Sweeney | honorific-suffix = | title = Bishop of Paterson | image = | image_size = | caption = | archdiocese = | appointed = April 15, 2020 | enthroned = July 1, 2020 | retired = | predecessor = Arthur J. Serratelli | successor = | other_post = <!---------- Orders ----------> | ordination = June 28, 1997 | ordained_by = Thomas Vose Daily | consecration = July 1, 2020 | consecrated_by = Joseph W. Tobin, Arthur J. Serratelli, and Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio<ref>{{cite news | access-date = July 3, 2020 | date = July 2, 2020 | url = https://thetablet.org/from-brooklyn-to-paterson-a-new-bishop/# | work= The Tablet | title= From Brooklyn to Paterson: A New Bishop | first = Ed | last = Wilkinson }}</ref> <!---------- Personal details ---------->| birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|01|10}} | birth_place = Queens, New York, US | death_date = | death_place = | buried = | nationality = | previous_post = | motto = ''Dios es amor''<br>("God is love") | see = Diocese of Paterson | education =Cathedral Seminary<br>St. John's University<br>Seminary of the Immaculate Conception }}
{{Infobox bishopstyles | name= Kevin J. Sweeney | dipstyle= *His Excellency *The Most Reverend | offstyle=Your Excellency | relstyle=Bishop | image = File:Coat of arms of Kevin J. Sweeney.svg | image_size = 200px }}
'''Kevin J. Sweeney''' is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Paterson in New Jersey since 2020.
==Biography== ===Early life and education=== A native of the New York borough of Queens, Kevin Sweeney was born on January 10, 1970, to James and Agnes (Blewitt) Sweeney. He has a sister, Marie Shanahan, and a brother, Brendan.<ref name="northjersey"/> Kevin Sweeney grew up in St. Luke's Parish in Whitestone, Queens, and attended Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Queens from 1984 to 1988. Sweeney played on the school baseball team; he entered the Cathedral Prep hall of fame in 2013.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney |url=https://rcdop.org/bishop-kevin-sweeney |access-date=March 14, 2024 |website=Diocese of Paterson}}</ref>
Deciding that he wanted to become a priest, Sweeney entered the Cathedral Seminary in Douglaston, New York. He then enrolled at St. John's University in New York City, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1992.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson; Names Father Kevin Sweeney of Diocese of Brooklyn as Successor |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2020/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-bishop-arthur-serratelli-paterson-names-father-kevin |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=US Conference of Catholic Bishop |language=en}}</ref>
After finishing at St. John's, Sweeney continued his studies at Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. During his time at the seminary, Sweeney spent a pastoral year at St. Agatha's Parish in Brooklyn . Sweeney was awarded a Master of Divinity degree in theology in 1997<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />
===Ordination and ministry=== On June 28, 1997, Sweeney was ordained a priest at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Brooklyn for the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Thomas V. Daily.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Kevin James Sweeney [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bsweeneyk.html |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> After his 1997 ordination, the diocese assigned Sweeney as parochial vicar at the following parishes in Queens:
* St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Jamaica (1997 to 2003) * Our Lady of Sorrows in Corona (2003 to 2004)<ref name=":1" />
In 2004, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio named Sweeney as vocations director, a position he held until 2010. During this time, he also served as the first director of the Pope John Paul II House of Discernment in Brooklyn. Sweeney was named as chaplain in 2005 at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn and spiritual director at Jovenes de Valor, a Catholic youth movement in the diocese. <ref name=":1" />
In January 2010, Sweeney was appointed pastor of St. Michael's Parish in Brooklyn's Sunset Park section, a post he held until 2020. He was also named dean of the Brooklyn 8 Deanery in 2013.<ref name=":1" />
===Bishop of Paterson=== Pope Francis appointed Sweeney as bishop of Paterson on April 15, 2020.<ref name="northjersey">{{cite news |url= https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2020/04/15/bishop-arthur-serratelli-steps-down-paterson-diocese/2994865001/ |title= Bishop Serratelli stepping down from Paterson Diocese; Brooklyn priest named as successor | first= Abbott | last = Koloff | first2=Alex | last2 = Nussbaum |accessdate= April 15, 2020 |date= April 15, 2020| publisher = northjersey.com }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> He was consecrated at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Paterson by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin on July 1, 2020, with Bishops Arthur J. Serratelli, and Nicholas DiMarzio acting as co-consecrators. <ref name=":2" />Attendance at the ceremony was limited to about 100 people due to restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite news | title= Paterson Diocese installs Brooklyn priest as new bishop | access-date = July 3, 2020 | url = https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2020/07/01/paterson-diocese-installs-brooklyn-priest-kevin-sweeney-new-bishop/5352911002/ | publisher = northjersey.com | first = Abbott | last= Koloff | first2= Deena | last2 = Yellin | date= July 2, 2020 }}</ref>
==See also== {{div col}} * Catholic Church hierarchy * Catholic Church in the United States * Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States * List of Catholic bishops of the United States * Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.rcdop.org/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson Official Site]
{{s-start}} {{s-rel|ca}} {{succession box |title=Bishop of Paterson |before= Arthur J. Serratelli |after= incumbent |years= 2020–present | }} {{s-end}}
{{portal bar|Biography|Catholicism|New Jersey}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson|state=collapsed}} {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Kevin J.}} Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Category:American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Category:Religious leaders from Queens, New York Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Francis