Eileen Mulcahy Appointed Vice Chancellor for Parish Planning

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Eileen Mulcahy, who has served as director of pastoral planning for the archdiocese since 2014, has been appointed vice chancellor for parish planning by Cardinal Dolan.

The new appointment became official when the cardinal administered the oath of office to Ms. Mulcahy May 25 in the presence of several other archdiocesan officials.

“I’m honored and humbled for the trust the cardinal has placed in me. I’m deeply grateful for it,” she told Catholic New York in a phone interview last week.

She will also continue to serve as victims assistance coordinator for the archdiocese, a post she has held since 2019.

Cardinal Dolan, in an earlier letter to archdiocesan employees announcing the appointment, said Ms. Mulcahy handles her responsibilities in both positions with “expertise and sensitivity.”

“I am grateful to her for her service,” the cardinal said.

Ms. Mulcahy said her work in pastoral planning involves making the best use of the Church’s resources, as a result of extensive consultation with the people of the archdiocese to ensure their needs are being met effectively and efficiently. In carrying out those measures, she follows the direction of Cardinal Dolan.

“I’m deeply committed to the mission of the Church,” she said.

She became director of pastoral planning after serving as chief of staff to Bishop Dennis Sullivan when he was vicar general of the archdiocese. He is now the bishop of the Diocese of Camden, N.J.

Her first position with the archdiocese, beginning in 2005, was in the Parish Finance Office, where she worked primarily with the Inter-Parish Finance program.

When meeting with victims-survivors of sexual abuse by a cleric in her role as victims assistance coordinator, she said she strives to make those encounters compassionate, charitable and just to the victim.   

In that position, she succeeded Sister Eileen Clifford, O.P., who also served as vice chancellor for 17 years before her retirement. (Sister Eileen died last August.)

Before coming to the archdiocese, Ms. Mulcahy had worked in the equities division of several Wall Street firms.

She and her husband, Rory, are parishioners of St. Joseph’s in Bronxville. They are the parents of two adult children.