NYC pastor who let Sabrina Carpenter film in church relieved of duties

The pastor of a New York City church where Sabrina Carpenter filmed her music video for “Feather” was relieved of his duties this week after church officials said an investigation revealed other instances of mismanagement.

Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello was relieved of “any pastoral oversight or management role” at Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Williamsburg, according to a statement published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

“I am saddened to share 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,” Bishop Robert Brennan said in the statement. “To protect the public trust and to protect church funds, I have appointed Bishop Witold Mroziewski as administrator of the parish.”

Gigantiello originally came under fire last November after Carpenter released the music video for “Feather,” which she filmed partially at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The priest was demoted for allowing Carpenter to shoot there, with the diocese confirming, “The parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding filming on church property, which includes a review of the scenes and the script.”

At the time, Gigantiello responded, saying he was sorry for the video and offered “sincere apologies” to the church and its parishioners. He said he agreed to allow the video to be filmed to “strengthen the bond between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community and the parish.”

An additional investigation was launched after the music video controversy inadvertently revealed that Gigantiello made unauthorized financial transfers to Frank Carone, 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 internal church investigation uncovered other instances of administrative impropriety, including Gigantiello’s use of a church credit card for “substantial” personal expenses. He also transferred $1.9 million in parish funds to bank accounts associated with Carone. Carone’s law firm repaid $1 million of the funds, along with about 9 percent 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 over “business dealings” between Gigantiello and Carone. At the time, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn said it was “fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement in all investigations, including the conduct of individual parishes or the involvement of any priest.”

In September, Carpenter acknowledged his role in Adams’ accusation during a show at Madison Square Garden. Addressing the audience, Carpenter nodded to the speculation about her video, saying: “Damn, now what? Are we going to talk about how I got the mayor indicted or…”

Adams was indicted on federal criminal charges, becoming the first mayor of New York City to face criminal charges while in office. He was hit with five charges in total: bribery; request for a contribution from a foreign national (two counts); wire fraud; and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and receiving campaign contributions from foreign nationals.