Neil Edward Tiedemann C.P. (born March 5, 1948) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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 ...

who 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. ...

for 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 ...

from 2016 to 2023 and as bishop of the Diocese of Mandeville in Jamaica from 2008 to 2016.

Biography

Early life

Neil Tiedemann was born on March 5, 1948, in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He graduated from Holy Cross Seminary, a minor seminary operated by the Congregation of the Passion in Dunkirk, New York. Tiedemann then attended Holy Family Seminary in West Hartford Connecticut. He graduated from LaSalle University in Philadelphia in 1970 with a Bachelor of Sociology degree. Tiedemann professed to the Congregation of the Passion on August 22, 1971, and made his final vows to them on August 22, 1974.

Priesthood

On May 16, 1975, Tiedemann was ordained to the priesthood for the Passionists by Bishop Francis John Mugavero in Brooklyn. That same year, Tiedemann received a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

degree and 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 from St. John’s University in New York City. The Passionists first assigned Tiedemann as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in Queens, New York. During this period, he also worked for

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...

. In 1982, Tiedemann left Immaculate Conception to work at St. Joseph Parish in

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

, and Blessed Sacrament in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Passionists then sent him to

Tegucigalpa, Honduras Tegucigalpa ( )—formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz''—is the capital and largest city of Honduras along with its sister city, Comaya ...

, where he helped found Casa Pasionista, an

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

hospice.

Bishop of Mandeville

On May 2, 2008,

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 ...

appointed Tiedemann as bishop of Mandeville. He was consecrated by Archbishop Donald Reece at Saint Paul of the Cross Cathedral in

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville () is the capital and largest town in the Manchester Parish, parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of t ...

on August 6, 2008.

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

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 ...

appointed Tiedemann as an auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn on April 29, 2016; he was installed on August 4, 2016. As auxiliary bishop, he was assigned as pastor of St. Matthias Parish in Queens. He also served as the vicar for West Indian, Caribbean, and African-American Catholics

Retirement

Tiedemann submitted his resignation to Pope Francis after reaching his 75th birthday. The pope accepted it on June 30, 2023.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn Official Site

Episcopal succession

1948 births Living people Religious leaders from Brooklyn 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Mandeville Passionist bishops

Bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI {{US-RC-bishop-stub