Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius A. Catanello

Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius A. Catanello, Vicar for Clergy.

When he was raised to the episcopacy in l994, he brought to his new ministry wide experience as an Episcopal Vicar for the Queens South Vicariate, prep seminary administrator, college educator and ecumenist.

It was Bishop Catanello's involvement in interfaith and interreligious activities for a decade as chairman of the diocesan Ecumenical Commission that prepared him for an appointment as a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee on Interreligious Dialogue.

His particular emphasis is on Catholic-Islamic conversations among leaders of both faiths ministering in the eastern part of the U.S.

Also in his activities outside the Diocese of Brooklyn is his service as the episcopal moderator of the National Association of Holy Name Societies, based in Baltimore.

Born in Brooklyn July 23, 1938, one of two sons of Mary and the late Nicholas Catanello, Bishop Catanello attended Most Holy Trinity School, Williamsburg, and Bushwick High School.

After high school he spent a year at the novitiate of the Order of Recollects of St. Augustine in Kansas City, Kansas, before returning to Brooklyn for studies at Cathedral College.

Continuing his education at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, he earned a bachelor's degree there, later enrolling at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, L.I., to study for the priesthood.

On May 28, 1966, in St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn, Archbishop Bryan J. McEntegart ordained him for priestly service, and he ministered successively in the parishes of St. Rita's, Long Island City; St. Helen's, Howard Beach; St. Ann's, Flushing, and Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge.

Named an Episcopal Vicar for the Queens South Vicariate in l988— and a monsignor in l989, he served in that work until 1991 when he was named principal of Cathedral Prep in Elmhurst.

Three years later, on June 28, 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed Msgr. Catanello and Father Gerald M. Barbarito (now Bishop of Ogdensburg) Auxiliary Bishops. They were ordained to the fullness of the priesthood in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Bay Ridge on Aug. 22. Bishop Catanello as also named the Titular Bishop of Deulto.

Throughout his early priesthood Bishop Catanello pursued graduate degrees, earning a master's in both theology and counseling from St. John's University and a doctorate in religious studies from New York University.

For 27 years he taught theology at St. John's as an adjunct professor, and the university honored him with its President's Medal in l975 and an honorary doctorate of law in l989. He has also received the Distinguished Service Award of LaGuardia College in Long Island City, recognizing his work with the school in its early years.

In the mid-'70s, he was president of both the diocesan Priests' Senate and the Priests' Councils of New York.