St. Joseph's Church was designated as a co-cathedral for the Diocese of Brooklyn on February 14, 2013, by Pope Benedict XVI after Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio petitioned the Vatican.

It originally included all of Long Island, but its present-day territory was established in 1957 when Nassau and Suffolk counties were split off to form the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

[2] The opening of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1801 drew a number of immigrants, largely Catholics from Northern Ireland, especially from Derry and Donegal.

Periodically, John Power or others would come to celebrate Mass at the home of William Purcell or at Dempsey's Blooming Grove Garden on Fulton St.

In July, 1841, Johann Stephen Raffeiner, from the Tyrol, began the German parish of the Most Holy Trinity on a part of the farm of the old Dutch Meserole family in the Bushwick section.

In 1971, Mugavero established the Catholic Migration Office to serve the needs of immigrants and refugees living in Brooklyn and Queens.

In September 2018, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn agreed to a record $27.5 million settlement for sex abuse allegations.

[5] On February 15, 2019, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens made public a list of 108 clergy who were "credibly accused" of committing sexual abuse,[6][7][8] some of whom have also been convicted for their crimes.

[11] In a separate case, the Vatican exonerated Bishop DiMarzio of allegations of sexual abuse dating back a half century.

After an inquiry led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said that the accusations were groundless.

[12] The sitting bishop is also the true principal of the diocese's pre-seminary high school, Cathedral Preparatory Seminary.