By Katie Vasquez
In week six of the Lenten Pilgrimage, the faithful continue their journey to churches across the Diocese of Brooklyn. It’s been a time to reflect on their own path to Christ as Holy Week gets near.
Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated Mass with people packed into the pews at Sacred Heart of Jesus church in Bayside. The Queens church is designated as a Jubilee shrine church meaning that if pilgrims in attendance meet certain conditions, they can receive plenary indulgences and be free from the temporal punishment due to sin. The mass included students from Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Academy, who even offered a song for the bishop after communion. Some said it was a moment of joy to be in the presence of the Brooklyn shepherd.
“I really enjoyed seeing the bishop. It was really nice seeing him, because I really have not seen the bishop a lot. I only saw him twice. so it was good. l loved it,” said 3rd grader at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy of Bayside, Gia Priolo.
“Yeah, I enjoyed it. The part where he talked about how God is always trying to enter our heart, because I feel like sometimes people always forget that no matter what’s happening in your life God is always with them,” said 6th grader at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy of Bayside, James Tempesta.
This stop is also special because the church houses a relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis: seven strands of the young tech whiz’s hair. The church will soon become a diocesan shrine church for the soon-to-be first millennial saint. Bishop Brennan told the faithful that the Italian teen is a role model for Catholics of all ages.
“Blessed Carlo, soon to be Saint Carlo. He’s not only an inspiration to the young people, but reminds us of how much we have to learn from the young people as we experienced here at Sacred Heart today,” he told Currents News.
Blessed Carlo will be canonized later this month and the shrine at the church will be blessed by Bishop Brennan in the fall. If you didn’t make it to Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on April 9 and would like to receive plenary indulgence for the Jubilee, you have until the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 to visit a shrine church.