The pastor of the New York City church where Sabrina Carpenter filmed her music video for “Feather” was stripped of his duties this week after church officials said an investigation revealed other instances of mismanagement.
Msgr. Jimmy Gigantello has been relieved of “any pastoral or administrative role” at Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Williamsburg. According to a statement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.
Bishop Robert Brennan said in the statement: “I am saddened to announce that investigations conducted by Alvarez & Marsal and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP have uncovered evidence of serious violations of diocesan policies and protocols at Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Annunciation Parish. “In order to maintain the public trust and protect church funds, I have appointed Bishop Witold Mrozewski as parish administrator.”
Gigantiello was initially criticized last November after Carpenter released the “Feather” clip, which she partially filmed at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The priest was demoted for allowing Carpenter to film there, and the diocese asserted that “the parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding filming on church property, which includes reviewing scenes and scripts.”
At the time, Gigantello responded, saying he was disturbed by the video and offered “sincere apologies” to the church and parishioners. He said he agreed to allow the video to be filmed “to strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who are a large part of this community and the parish.”
Another investigation began after the music video controversy inadvertently revealed that Gigantiello made unauthorized financial transfers to Frank Caroni, a former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is currently under federal investigation on corruption charges after being indicted in September.
Brennan said the church’s internal investigation uncovered other instances of administrative irregularities, including Gigantello’s use of a church credit card for “significant” personal expenses. He also transferred $1.9 million in parish funds to Caroni’s bank accounts. Caroni’s law firm repaid $1 million of the money, plus about 9% interest, but Brennan said Gigantiello did not seek prior approval for the transactions and failed to properly document them.
Earlier this fall, federal investigators subpoenaed the church regarding “business dealings” between Gigantello and Caroni. At the time, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn said it was “fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement authorities in all investigations, including conduct in individual parishes or related to any priest.”
In September, Carpenter acknowledged her role in the Adams indictment during a performance at Madison Square Garden. Speaking to the audience, Carpenter nodded to speculation about her video, saying, “Shit, what now? Should we be talking about how to indict the mayor, or…”
Adams was indicted on federal criminal charges, becoming the first New York City mayor to be charged with criminal offenses while in office. He was charged with a total of five counts: Bribery; soliciting a contribution from a foreign national (two counts); wire fraud; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; federal program bribery; and receiving campaign contributions from foreign nationals.