WASHINGTON, DC — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Raymond F. Chappetto of Brooklyn, New York, 76, who serves as the diocese’s vicar general.
The bishop turned 75 on August 20, 2020. Canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope when they turn 75.
A native of New York, Chappetto has served the Brooklyn Diocese as an auxiliary bishop since 2012. He was ordained a priest of the diocese in 1971.
His resignation was announced in Washington on March 7 by Bishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio.
“I share the appreciation of so many in the diocese for Bishop Chappetto’s many years of dedicated service here in Brooklyn and Queens. Personally, I thank him for staying past retirement age to help with the transition, and to Pope Francis for allowing this,” said Bishop Robert J. Brennan, head of the Brooklyn Diocese.
“It has been an honor and a privilege for me to serve 51 years as a priest, including 10 as a bishop, for the great diocese of Brooklyn,” Chappetto said. “I am grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Francis and Bishops (Nicholas) DiMarzio and Brennan for their support of my ministry.”
Chappetto was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn on May 2, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. He was ordained a bishop on July 11, 2012 by DiMarzio, then head of the Brooklyn Diocese. In September 2013, Chappetto was appointed vicar general of the diocese.
Raymond Francis Chappetto was born on August 20, 1945 in Astoria, a neighborhood in the western part of the borough of Queens in New York. He studied at Cathedral College in Brooklyn and earned a master’s degree in divinity from Our Lady of Angels Seminary in Albany, New York.
Chappetto also holds a Master of Arts in Religious Education from St. John’s University and is certified in Pastoral Counseling.
He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn on May 29, 1971 by Bishop of Brooklyn Francis J. Mugavero. Throughout his ministry, he served in numerous parishes in Brooklyn and Queens, the two boroughs that make up the diocese. He was Episcopal Vicar of the Vicariate of Brooklyn West. In 1997, Saint John Paul II named him monsignor.
In 2008, while named pastor of Notre-Dame des Neiges parish in the floral park, Chappetto was named pastor of the year by the National Catholic Educational Association. During his ministry at Notre-Dame des Neiges, he was appointed minister of priests of the diocese.
In 2009, he was appointed Vicar for the Clergy and Consecrated Life, a position he held until 2021.
