Fr. Neil Tiedemann, CP
Fr. Neil Tiedemann receives the Laying on of Hands during his Ordination as Bishop.
Fr. Neil, a Provincial Consultor of St. Paul of the Cross Province, was born in Brooklyn, NY, on March 4, 1948. He entered the Passionist Congregation in 1970 and professed his perpetual vows in 1974. He was ordained a priest on May 16, 1975.
After ordination, Fr. Neil served as the the Associate pastor at Immaculate Conception parish in Jamaica, NY from 1975-1982. Following that service, Fr. Neil served as Co-pastor to St. Joseph’s parish in Union City, NJ until 1987. From 1987 until 1994 he occupied a Pastoral ministry in Tegucigalpa, Honduras followed by Pastoral ministry to St. Joseph’s parish until 1997. He returned to the Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, NY until 1998. Following that, Fr. Neil acted as the Administrator-pastor to the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in his hometown of Brooklyn. Finally from 2005-2006, he returned to a Pastoral ministry in Honduras. In 2006, Fr. Neil was elected a Provincial Consultor of our Passionist St. Paul of the Cross Province.
Fr. Neil’s new diocese is a suffragan of the Kingston-in-Jamaica archdiocese. It covers a surface of over 1000 square miles. The total population is just under 600,000, of whom some 8,800 are Catholic. The diocese has 22 parishes, 43 priests, 6 religious Brothers, 4 seminarians and 28 Sisters.
Fr. Neil replaces Bishop Paul Michael Boyle, CP, who was called home to Christ on January 10, 2008, after having served almost 55 years as a priest and 61 years as a member of the Passionists. Revered by his colleagues for his brilliance and compassion, Paul’s fellow Passionists elected him Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province in 1968, a position he held until 1976 when he was elected Superior General of the worldwide Passionist Congregation. In 1991 Pope John Paul II appointed Paul as Vicar of the newly established Apostolic Vicariate in Mandeville, Jamaica.
Paul’s time in Jamaica was spent among the most impoverished people. Working tirelessly for these poorest of the poor, Paul built up the missionary efforts. In six short years, his efforts grew to over 100 missionaries, including 13 lay people. Schools were built, health clinics and senior citizens facilities opened, and along with Passionist Sister Una, an accredited college was created. Paul achieved so much in such a short time that the Holy Father proclaimed Mandeville a diocese in 1997 and appointed Paul to lead as its first Bishop.
When Bishop Boyle retired in 2004, he moved to the Passionist community in Louisville, Kentucky. Even in retirement, he continued preaching for the poor in the Caribbean, until just a few weeks before his death.
In his funeral homily, Fr. Columkille Regan, CP, a longtime friend of Bishop Boyle, reminded us of Paul’s motto, “His cross is our hope.” From Paul’s ordination until his death, the Passion and death of Jesus was his hope and inspiration.
