Octavio Cisneros (born July 19, 1945) is a Cuban-born American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the State of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, co ...

in New York City from 2006 to 2020.

Biography

Early life

The third of four children, Octavio Cisneros was born on July 19, 1945, in

Las Villas Las Villas is a natural region and ''comarca'' in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located in the mountainous area at the eastern end of Jaén Province. The main town is Villacarrillo. Together with the Sierra de Cazorla and Sierra de Segura ...

, a province of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, to Roberto Cisneros and Olga Lezcano. He and his family moved to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Piarist Fathers as a child. In October 1961, Octavio Cisneros immigrated to the United States as a

political refugee The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, such as a second country or another enti ...

as part of

Operation Peter Pan Operation Peter Pan (or Operación Pedro Pan) was a clandestine exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors ages 6 to 18 to the United States over a two-year span from 1960 to 1962. They were sent by parents who feared, on the basis of unsu ...

. Relocated to Marquette,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, he attended Negaunee St. Paul High School in

Negaunee, Michigan Negaunee ( or ) is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,627 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located at the southwest corner of Negaunee Township, M ...

. Cisneros then studied at St. Lawrence Minor Seminary in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, where he obtained an

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

degree, and at

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

in Lewiston, New York, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. He studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at DeSales School of Theology in Washington, D.C., and at the

Seminary of the Immaculate Conception The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception was a Catholic seminary in Lloyd Harbor, New York, accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, and serving the Diocese of Rockville Centre. It offered a number o ...

in Huntington, New York, earning a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree.

Priesthood

Cisneros was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop

Francis Mugavero Francis John Mugavero (June 8, 1914 – July 12, 1991) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Brooklyn from 1968 to 1990. Early life and ordination Francis John Mugavero (pronounced Ma-GUV-e-ro) was born on June 8, 1914, in t ...

on May 29, 1971. For the first eight years of his priesthood, Cisneros served as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at St. Michael's Parish in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. In 1979, Cisneros was named diocesan coordinator of the

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

Apostolate. Eight years later, he was appointed

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in the

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

section of Queens. Cisneros' subsequent appointments were as an

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

in the Brooklyn East

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

iate and as rector of the Cathedral Seminary in the Douglaston section of Queens He was raised to the rank of honorary prelate of his holiness by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1988. In 2004, Cisneros was named secretary for priestly formation in the

diocesan chancery A diocesan chancery is the branch of administration that handles all written documents used in the official government of a Catholic, Anglican, or Orthodox diocese. It is in the diocesan chancery that, under the direction of the bishop or his r ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

On June 6, 2006, Cisneros was appointed as an

of the Diocese of Brooklyn and titular bishop of Eanach Dúin by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on August 22, 2006, from Bishop

Nicholas DiMarzio Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio (born June 16, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City from 2003 to 2021. DiMarzio previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Camden ...

, with Bishops Thomas Daily and Ignatius Catanello serving as co-consecrators. Cisneros served as vice-

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

(or promoter) of the cause for

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

(Sainthood) of

Félix Varela Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788 – February 18, 1853) was a Cuban Catholic priest and independence leader who is regarded as a notable figure in the Catholic Church in both his native Cuba and the United States, where he also served. ...

, a 19th-century Cuban priest. While auxiliary bishop, Cisneros also served as pastor of Holy Child Jesus Parish in the Richmond Hill section of Queens.

Retirement

On July 19, 2020, Cisneros reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops and submitted his letter of resignation to

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

. On October 30, 2020, Pope Francis accepted Cisneros' resignation. Cisneros continues to serve as pastor of Holy Child Jesus, as well as vicar of Hispanic concerns for the diocese. On January 20, 2022, Cisneros traveled to

Chalatenango, El Salvador Chalatenango is a municipality located in the Chalatenango Department, Department of Chalatenango, in the north of El Salvador. The municipality Chalatenango is a department, a municipality, and a city (the capital of the Department of Chalate ...

to celebrate a mass at the gravesites of Maryknoll Sisters

Maura Clarke Maura Clarke, MM (January 13, 1931 – December 2, 1980), was an American Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Sister who served as a missionary in Nicaragua and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and refugees in Central America from 1959 until her mu ...

and

Ita Ford Ita Ford, M.M. (April 23, 1940 – December 2, 1980) was an American Maryknoll Sister who served as a missionary in Bolivia, Chile and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and war refugees. On December 2, 1980, she was beaten, raped, and murde ...

. The two nuns from the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...

had been murdered in El Salvador on December 2, 1980, by soldiers of the El Salvador Army.

References

External links

Diocese of Brooklyn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cisneros, Octavio 1945 births Living people People from Villa Clara Province Cuban emigrants to the United States Niagara University alumni Bishops of Annaghdown 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops