Bishop Denise Donato is an ordained Catholic Priest with  more than 20 years experience in parish ministry. She has a Masters of Divinity degree from Colgate Rochester Divinity School, and a Masters of Social Work degree from Syracuse University. She was ordained a priest in 2003 at Spiritus Christi Church. Bishop Peter Hickman of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, the People of Spiritus Christi Church, Inter-Faith Ministers and Lay Leaders of Catholic Reform Movements participated in her ordination.

In addition to her work in ministry, Bishop Denise is an experienced mental health therapist and has prepared hundreds of couples for marriage. She has extensive experience working with the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans-gendered community.

In October of 2017, Bishop Denise was nominated to be an Auxiliary Bishop for the ECC; she was consecrated in February of 2018. She serves as the Auxiliary Bishop of the ECC and she is the founding pastor and pastor emeritus of Mary Magdalene Church in East Rochester, NY.

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Bishop Denise and her husband Phil live in Fairport, and they have three adult children and six grandchildren and one great-grandson.

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Read more about Bishop Denise's journey here!