Bishop Frank J. Caggiano is 2014 Commencement Speaker
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Fairfield Prep is honored to announce that the 2014 Commencement Speaker will be the Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport. The Commencement Exercises will take place on Sunday, June 1, at 10 a.m. at Alumni Hall on campus. The bishop was formally installed as the fifth Bishop of Bridgeport on September 19, 2013. In his installation homily, the Brooklyn born and raised priest spoke of “Building Bridges of Faith” in Fairfield County and the Diocese of Bridgeport.
Bishop Caggiano comes to the Bridgeport Diocese to continue an accomplished career path that includes previous appointments as Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn and Titular Bishop of Inis Cathaig by former Pope Benedict XVI. He was born in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn on Easter Sunday March 29, 1959, the second of two children of Arnaldo and Gennarina Caggiano, both of whom came to this country in 1958 from the town of Caggiano in the province of Salerno, Italy. He grew up in Saints Simon and Jude Church and attended the parish’s grammar school. The bishop’s education continued at Regis High School in Manhattan, conducted by the Jesuits, where he was a member of the class of 1977.
Bishop Caggiano entered Yale University in September 1977 as a political science major. After further discernment, he transferred into Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in January 1978, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in June 1981. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1987. In August 1991, the bishop was assigned to the North American College with residence at the Casa Santa Maria to pursue advanced studies in dogmatic theology at the Gregorian University in Rome, where he was granted a doctorate in Sacred Dogma in May 1996.
Bishop Caggiano served in many important roles in Brooklyn, including parochial vicar of several parishes, Dean of Formation for the Permanent Diaconate Program and the Censor Librorum of the Diocese, pastor, Director of the Permanent Diaconate Office, and Vicar for Evangelization and Pastoral Life. He was named a Papal Chaplain by Pope John Paul II in 2003.
In addition to his work in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Bishop Caggiano is an outstanding teacher, as is evidenced by the Holy See selecting him twice to offer catechesis to the young people at World Youth Days, in Madrid 2011 and recently in Rio de Janeiro 2013. Following World Youth Day, he traveled to Ireland where he was selected by the Catholic Bishops to help lead the “Youth 2000” Summer Retreat. During his time as pastor, the bishop also taught a number of theology courses at numerous Catholic universities, including the Staten Island campus of Saint John’s University and Saint Joseph’s College.
Bridgeport’s Monsignor Jerald A. Doyle, administrator of the Diocese, praised the bishop, “The Holy Father has blessed us with a priest, pastor and teacher with extensive experience at every level of diocesan ministries. Most importantly, he is a man of deep faith, love for the Church and commitment to the Gospel. On behalf of the Clergy, Religious and Laity, we welcome him with open arms and with our prayers that God will bless him as the Shepherd of our diocese.”