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An immigrant priest who served Brooklyn’s Mexican community was the first U.S. Catholic cleric to die of coronavirus, Diocese of Brooklyn officials said Saturday.
The Rev. Jorge Ortiz-Garay, 49, a beloved Mexico City-born priest, died Friday evening at Wyckoff Medical Center, the diocese said. Father Jorge, as worshipers knew him, was the diocesan coordinator of the ministry for Mexican-Americans, among other duties.
“This is a sad day and a tremendous loss for the Diocese of Brooklyn,” said Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. “Father Jorge was a great priest, beloved by the Mexican people, and a tireless worker for all the faithful in Brooklyn and Queens.”
Ortiz-Garay was ordained in the Diocese of Newark at the age of 33 in 2004 and came to Brooklyn five years later.
He coordinated the diocese’s annual Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day, at which thousands of Catholics attend a Mass before joining a torch-lit pilgrimage through the streets of Brooklyn and Queens. The busy priest was also pastor of St. Brigid’s Church in Wyckoff Heights.
He had previously served at St. Joseph’s Parish in Prospect Heights.
A memorial mass will be celebrated at a later date. Ortiz-Garay is survived by his parents, Jorge and Estella Ortiz, siblings, nieces and nephews.