48 Facts About Frank Caggiano

Frank Joseph Caggiano was born on March 29,1959 and is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut since 2013.

Frank Caggiano previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City from 2006 to 2013.

Frank Caggiano was born on March 29,1959, in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, New York, the younger of two children of Arnaldo and Gennarina Caggiano.

Frank Caggiano's parents were Italian immigrants who came to the United States in 1958 from the town of Caggiano, in the province of Salerno.

Frank Caggiano attended mass each Sunday morning at their parish of Saints Simon and Jude.

Frank Caggiano attended Saints Simon and Jude Elementary School in Gravesend and graduated from Regis High School in Manhattan in 1977.

Frank Caggiano then entered Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as a political science major.

In 1978, Frank Caggiano entered Cathedral College in Douglaston, Queens, graduating with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1981.

Frank Caggiano then entered the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York, earning a Master of Divinity degree.

Frank Caggiano was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Francis Mugavero on May 16,1987, at the Immaculate Conception Center Chapel in Douglaston.

In 1991, Frank Caggiano went to Rome to reside at the Pontifical North American College while studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Frank Caggiano received a Doctor of Sacred Theology in May 1996 for a thesis entitled: The Eschatological Implications of the Notion of Recreation in the Works of St Cyril of Alexandria.

Frank Caggiano was named as dean of formation for the Permanent Diaconate Program and as censor librorum for the diocese.

Frank Caggiano preached at the Youth 2000 Summer Festival in Tipperary, Ireland.

Frank Caggiano was raised to the rank of papal chaplain by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

On June 6,2006, Frank Caggiano was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and titular bishop of Inis Cathaig by Pope Benedict XVI.

Frank Caggiano received his episcopal consecration on August 22,2006, from DiMarzio, with Bishops Thomas Daily and Ignatius Catanello serving as co-consecrators.

Frank Caggiano participated in several World Youth Day gatherings, delivering catechetical talks at gatherings in Sydney, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

DiMarzio tasked Frank Caggiano with consolidating 46 parishes and reducing the number of Catholic grade schools from 108 to about 65 or 70 while converting the rest into independent Catholic academies.

Frank Caggiano mandated that pastors serve six-year renewable terms at parishes and that they submit their resignations as pastors to the bishop when they turned age 75.

In 2014, Frank Caggiano convoked the fourth diocesan synod, the first in Bridgeport in 32 years.

In November 2019, Frank Caggiano was elected to the board of Catholic Relief Services and then named to a three-year term as its chair.

Frank Caggiano said on November 25,2019, that it was an honor for him to lead an organization dedicated to people "who don't have enough to eat or a place to sleep because of entrenched poverty".

In 2018, Frank Caggiano announced that the diocese would revise its liturgical norms and regulations over the next four years as a result of discussions from the diocesan synod.

Frank Caggiano said that these new regulations would "allow us to pray effectively and reverently as a Church" and would be the newest norms implemented since 1983.

Frank Caggiano said that closing churches was "our common moral obligation to protect human life" and reduce transmission in the virus.

Frank Caggiano maintains a Facebook and Twitter account that he uses for regular postings.

In June 2021, Frank Caggiano announced the formation and development of a national catechetical institute.

Frank Caggiano said on October 3,2019, that victims "need to remain at the center of all of our efforts because they are our brothers and sisters" which meant that "moving forward does not mean leaving them behind".

In June 1997, Frank Caggiano stated that life must be preserved and defended from the moment of conception since an unborn child was "of infinite value" due to its origins in God's love.

Frank Caggiano told the National Catholic Reporter in 2014 that it was important "to rebuild trust in the Church, among people in the Church", particularly with those younger people who leave due to feeling scandalized by the impact the crisis has.

Frank Caggiano said that rebuilding trust was dependent upon transparency and authenticity which he hoped to demonstrate consistently in his episcopacy.

In June 1997, Frank Caggiano stated that "contemporary society continues to undermine all attempts to respect and defend human life", referring to an imminent US Supreme Court ruling on physician-assisted suicide which Frank Caggiano said "represents a subtle form of euthanasia".

Frank Caggiano said that it contributed to a "culture of death" that would usher in dramatic societal shifts towards life and death.

On December 22,2015, Caggiano attended a prayer service with Jewish and Muslim leaders in front of the Margaret E Morton Government Center in Bridgeport "to alert people to the sin of discrimination and to stand in solidarity with those who are in need".

Frank Caggiano decried attacks motivated by religious discrimination and hatred, noting the "growing menace of terrorism and violence" in a Facebook post he wrote shortly after the event.

Frank Caggiano noted that "unfortunately there are few who, in the name of God, are perpetrating terrible acts of evil".

Frank Caggiano pointed out that different religions needed to come together to reject religiously motivated violence in order "to search for peace, understanding and a spirit of tolerance".

Frank Caggiano further said that "to use a clearly anti-Semitic symbol is participating in unspeakable evil" and that it was a distressing occurrence given that there was a growing need to mutually respect other religions.

Frank Caggiano issued a statement on Twitter following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May 2020.

Frank Caggiano said that "we must confront the evil of systematic racism, bigotry, and discrimination in our country".

In 2015, Frank Caggiano condemned the US Supreme Court's decision that same-sex marriages were constitutional.

Frank Caggiano joined other Catholic dioceses in opposing the ruling, saying that the decision was indicative of "rapidly shifting attitudes in our secular American society" pointing out that this did not deter the church's official magisterium or "its understanding of sacramental marriage".

Frank Caggiano further stated that "the Church clearly teaches that the sacrament of marriage is a covenant of love that can be entered into only by a man and a woman", and that a change in civil law proved that the Catholic Church needed "to become a more welcoming Church".

Frank Caggiano said that pastors need to use technological innovations to reach these youth and draw them closer to the Catholic Church.

Frank Caggiano further said that striving for personal holiness and to "proclaim the Good News" were focal points for a youth ministry so that the youth were not forgotten.

Frank Caggiano attended the 2018 Synod of Bishops in Rome that was dedicated to the youth.

Frank Caggiano further said that there was a need to make outreach to young people a crucial pastoral focus for any episcopacy.