Assignment History– Msgr. Francis J. Manzo

Summary of Case: Francis J. Manzo was ordained for the Diocese of Brooklyn in 1962. He was an assistant priest in several parishes before joining the faculty of Cathedral Prep Seminary in 1967, where he was Dean of Students 1971-1980 . From there he pastored St. Catharine of Alexandria parish for twelve years, moving in 1992 to Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He had been elevated to Monsignor status in 1986.

Manzo was named in a lawsuit in 2002 as having "violently abused" an altar boy while assigned to St. Catharine's. The lawsuit claimed that Manzo was reassigned in 1992 after being accused. The Official Catholic DIrectory shows Manzo to have been Absent on Leave 1994-2002, after which he is no longer indexed. A September 2016 parish bulletin indicates that Manzo was still a Brooklyn priest.

Ordained: 1962

1962

Diocese of Brooklyn

Bishop was Bryan Joseph McEntegart (1957-1968).

Our Lady of the Cenacle had a school with 515-503 boys and 475-424 girls.

1967

McEntegart was succeeded as Brooklyn bishop by Francis John Mugavero (1968-1990).

1980

Thomas Vose Daily replaced Mugavero as Brooklyn bishop (1990-2003).

Brooklyn

• Manzo was accused in a 2002 lawsuit of having violently abused an altar boy while assigned to St. Catharine's. The lawsuit claimed that Manzo was transferred to Nativity of the BVM in Queens after he was accused.

1/7, 1/6, 1/8, 1/5, 1/4

Elevated to Monsignor 1986.

2002

Daily was followed as Brooklyn bishop by Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio (2003- ).

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1963-2002).

• Twelve Priests, One Brother Named in Lawsuit, Newsday, October 16, 2002
• Diocese Sued for $300 Million; Sex Abuse Alleged in Queens, By Kathleen Louis, Queens Chronicle, October 17, 2002
• The Accused, USA Today, November 11, 2002
• Resurrection Roman Catholic Church Bulletin, p.3, September 11, 2013

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Manzo's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on October 23, 2017.