The next Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, is a pastor who grew up in Whitestone.
On April 15, Pope Francis announced that Reverend Kevin Sweeney, pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Sunset Park, will begin his minister in Paterson later this year.
Sweeney, 50, grew up in St. Luke’s parish in Whitestone. He attended Cathedral Prep from 1984 to 1988, and was a star on the school’s baseball team. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2013.
After graduation, Sweeney entered the Cathedral Seminary House of Formation in Douglaston and studied at St. John’s University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
He later received his master of divinity in theology from the Seminary of Immaculate Conception in Huntington.
Sweeney was ordained a priest of the Brooklyn Diocese in 1997, serving at St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Jamaica and Our Lady of Sorrow in Corona. He was appointed as pastor of St. Michael’s Parish in 2010.