Background
Scharfenberger was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Scharfenberger was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
He graduated from Cathedral Preparatory Seminary High School and Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception with a Bachelor in Philosophy.
Early life and education
From 1968, he was a seminarian of the North American College in Rome. In 1972 he obtained an STB degree (summa cum laude) at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Ordination and ministry
Scharfenberger received his priestly ordination July 2, 1973 in Saint Peter"s Basilica at the hands of then-Bishop James Hickey, the future cardinal, then rector of the North American College.
He was incardinated into his native diocese, the Diocese of Brooklyn.
In 1977 he completed a licence in moral theology at the Alphonsian Academy in Rome, and in 1981 a licence in canon law (Juris Canonici Licentiatus) at the Catholic University of America. From 2013, he was the episcopal vicar for Queens.
Bishop of Albany
On February 11, 2014, Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Albany. Prior to the appointment, he had served as pastor of Saint Matthias Church in Ridgewood, Queens.
He was consecrated and installed by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, on April 10, 2014 in a ceremony at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
In addition to pastoral work for decades, he held various roles in the diocesan curia (a member of the diocesan tribunal, judicial vicar, an adviser to the canonical Ordinary, promoter of justice and member of the committee for sexually abused children).
