Pope Leo XIV has tapped a Corona, Queens, pastor as the next bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida.
Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez of Our Lady of Sorrows will be the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach, succeeding retiring Bishop Gerald Barbarito. Barbarito submitted his resignation when he turned 75, as required by the Vatican.
Rodríguez introduced to new flock in Palm Beach
Bishop-elect Rodríguez is expected to start in his new role early next year. He was introduced to his new flock at a press conference in Palm Beach earlier Friday, and opened with a joke.
“It is a great joy for me to be here,” Rodríguez said as he was introduced. “I come from the Diocese in Brooklyn, in New York. However, although my last name is Rodríguez, and although I was born in the Dominican Republic, where baseball is almost a religion, I wish to clarify at the outset that I am not cousin to Alex Rodriguez, or A-Rod as he is known.”
He then said, with all respect to the Miami Marlins, he is a lifelong Yankees fan.
Rodríguez said he found out about his appointment Sunday in a phone call.
“My reaction was one of utter disbelief,” he said. “Is this perhaps some kind of artificial intelligence, AI, prank or something of the sort?”
Word of Rodríguez’s appointment comes a day after the pontiff named Ronald Hicks as archbishop-elect of New York as successor to Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Rodríguez will be back in Queens for Christmas and head to Florida in the new year.
“We’re losing a great pastor, but it’s a great honor for him to be named bishop”
Rodríguez was born in the Dominican Republic and became a U.S. citizen in 2018. He was ordained in 2004 and arrived in the Diocese of Brooklyn in 2009. He speaks fluent English, Spanish, Italian and French.
“I congratulate Bishop-elect Manuel Rodríguez for his appointment by the Holy Father to serve Catholics in Palm Beach,” said the Bishop of Brooklyn Robert Brennan. “Bishop-elect Rodríguez has so many talents. But at the heart of it all is his love of Jesus Christ.”
He added, “The exuberance Bishop-elect Rodríguez brings to his ministry is refreshing, and it is all about love for Jesus Christ and love for the gospel. He has done an extraordinary job at Our Lady of Sorrows, our largest parish, where he walks with the people, many of whom are immigrants, and stays close to their hearts. Those are gifts that will help him as he begins this new chapter of his ministry.”
Rodríguez is a charismatic priest who brought the parish back from the pandemic. In 2021, Rodríguez told CBS News New York the parish had over 100 deaths during the pandemic.
“We’re losing a great pastor, but it’s a great honor for him to be named bishop,” Our Lady of Sorrows employee Jeanette Felix said.
Rodríguez’s parish has helped many immigrants caught up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement cases.
He’ll soon be bishop in President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, Florida, backyard.
“Whether or not the Holy See intended it to be a statement, obviously it is,” said Christopher Hale, a political and Vatican commentator. “I think he has a really good chance to really stand up for Catholic values, particularly on the question of immigration, and who knows, he might be a thorn in the president’s side.”
Rodríguez has both praised and criticized President Trump on social media. Their paths will no doubt cross in Florida.