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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. ...

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 ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

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

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

shortly after his birth. He studied in Cuba under the 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; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

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 after parents feared that Fidel Castro and ...

. Relocated to Marquette,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, he attended Negaunee St. Paul High School in

Negaunee, Michigan Negaunee ( or ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,568 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the southwest corner of Negaunee Township, which is administratively separate, in the Upper Peni ...

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

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

degree, and at

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...

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

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

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 of ...

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 divi ...

degree.

Priesthood

Cisneros was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

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 the ...

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'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Apostolate. Eight years later, he was appointed

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

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 SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

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 State ...

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 pref ...

iate and as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Cathedral Seminary in the Douglaston section of Queens He was raised to the rank of

honorary prelate of his holiness A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

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

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

Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn

On June 6, 2006, Cisneros was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn and titular bishop of Eanach Dúin by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member 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 of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on August 22, 2006, from Bishop

Nicholas DiMarzio Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio (born June 16, 1944) is an American prelate of the Latin Catholic Church, Roman Catholic ChurchThomas 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 Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

(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 Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

(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 ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

. 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 to celebrate a mass at the gravesites of Maryknoll Sisters

Maura Clarke Maura Clarke (January 13, 1931 – December 2, 1980), was an American Catholic 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 murder in 1980 ...

and

Ita Ford Sister Ita Ford, M.M. (April 23, 1940 – December 2, 1980) was an American Catholic 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, r ...

. The two nuns from the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

were murdered 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