Catholic Youth Day: Youngest Catholic Bishop in America, the “Rapping Bishop”, in Fall River TODAY

Hundreds of young people from across the greater Massachusetts area will gather for the Diocese of Fall River’s annual Catholic Youth Day, a large-scale event focused on faith, service, and community, TODAY, October 18th from 9:30am to 5:30pm at Bishop Connolly High School, 373 Elsbree St., in Fall River.

Featured speakers will be Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., who has led the Diocese of Fall River for almost 11 years, and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph A. Espaillat II of the Archdiocese of New York. Bishop Espaillat was appointed a bishop by Pope Francis in January 2022 and is the youngest Catholic bishop and the first Dominican bishop in the United States.

Joseph Armando Espaillat II is a Dominican-American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New York since 2022. On May 17, 2003, Espaillat was ordained to the priesthood at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Pope Francis appointed Espaillat as an auxiliary bishop of New York on January 25, 2022. Espaillat was consecrated as a bishop at St. Patrick’s Cathedral by Cardinal Timothy Dolan on March 1, 2022, with bishops John O’Hara and Gerald Walsh acting as co-consecrators. At age 45, Espaillat became the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States and one of the youngest in the world.

Video of Bishop Espaillat 2 years ago, prior to his ordination as a Bishop: