By Jessica Easthope

The faithful of Brooklyn and Queens are invited to play their part at the Diocese of Brooklyn Eucharistic Revival.

Pilgrims, united in their belief in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, will converge from every corner of the diocese. They will journey together, on the subway and on the streets, to the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows Park on Saturday, Apr. 20, for an unprecedented event.

With hearts brimming with anticipation, parishioners and faith leaders have been eagerly awaiting this momentous day. 

“It is really all about the joy of the risen Christ,” said Father Joseph Gibino, Vicar for Evangelization and Catechesis for the diocese. “We should be proclaiming to the world that we are a people blessed and graced.”

Father Gibino said the sights and sounds of praise will stimulate pilgrims’ senses upon arrival.

“As they get to the park, it’s going to be utter chaos as they arrive; it will truly be Pentecost,” Father Gibino said. “Then they’re going to come into the stadium, and it will be bright and bold; it will be Easter.”

A priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn believes that praying before the Body of Christ led him to the priesthood.

Father James Rodriguez, pastor of Saint Rose of Lima Church in Rockaway Beach, remembers when he answered God’s call.

He started praying quietly before the Blessed Sacrament 25 years ago, asking the Lord for help determining his vocation.

Then, in a moment of divine intervention, a random older woman, also immersed in prayer, turned to him and uttered the unexpected words, ‘You should become a priest.’

Father Rodriguez initially shrugged it off until he realized it was the answer he’d been waiting for.

Now, as a pastor, Father Rodriguez encourages other Catholics to spend time in a chapel or church, praying before the Body of Christ, just like he did.

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said in his latest post online that he met with the families of Israeli hostages during his mission trip to the Holy Land.

Cardinal Dolan is visiting the Holy Land as chair of the Papal agency, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, or CNEWA.

He’s also visiting different religious representatives and checking on current humanitarian efforts.

By Jessica Easthope

Matthew McKeon-Slattery is part of a team coordinating every step of the journey to a once-in-a-lifetime faith experience. They’re driving every street and walking every set of subway stairs, all to ensure that thousands of people arrive safely at the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Eucharistic Revival.

“We put together a map, we gave it to the pastors,” said McKeon-Slattery, Deputy Director of External Affairs for DeSales Media Group, the communications and technology arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn that operates NET-TV. “But we just want to make sure and go through it ourselves to see if there’s anything that could be dangerous along the way; even though it’s been approved by the NYPD, we have to see it for ourselves.”

“If everything goes the way that we want it to, they won’t even know that we were there or had anything to do with it at all because that’s the point of doing logistics like this,” McKeon-Slattery said. “It’s to make sure everything goes smoothly on the day of the actual event.”

DeSales’ External Affairs team, along with the NYPD and MTA, is responsible for the logistics of thousands of people on two different pilgrimages.

Pilgrims from Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Leo’s Parishes in Corona and St. Michael’s Church in Flushing will walk to Louis Armstrong Stadium. Meanwhile, thousands of others will take the 7 train. Bishop Robert Brennan will ride the rails, too, getting on at Court Square and ending at Citi Field, the stadium stop. Parishioners are encouraged to join him at any of these five stops.

“We looked at all of the subway stations in Queens and figured out which were the ones that most people could access,” McKeon-Slattery said. “We’re going to have some of our staff so the parishioners, congregations who are wanting to do it this way will know where to go. We’ll know where to stand, and they’ll make sure they get on the same seven train as Bishop Brennan.”

Wil Vega, DeSales Media’s police liaison, says keeping the crowd together and separate from the public is essential for a safe and accessible pilgrimage.

“Every place has a police precinct, which has a community affairs office, and this is who we coordinate with just to get a feel of what the neighborhood is, who the people are,” Vega said. “Also, we know what their needs are and how to move forward to help.”

Though there are many moving parts, there’s only one goal: to bring the faithful together to encounter Christ.

“It’s been truly an honor, just to serve as a Catholic myself, the church, in its capacity on how it helps different communities and people and just the fact that knowing that we’re just helping people, in general, is something that I hold dear to my heart,” Vega said.

The team’s preparation has been months in the making. They say that come April 20th, they’ll be prepared for anything.

By Katie Vasquez

Everything will be preserved in translation at the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Eucharistic Revival on Saturday. The app Interprefy will be available to all, translating five languages for patrons in real time. Len Camporeale, the director of Marketing at NET TV’s parent company, DeSales Media, said they expect about a third of the 10,000 faithful in attendance to use it.

In the more than 35 apostolates, the five most common languages are Spanish, Haitian Creole, Polish, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean.

So, how does the app work? Live interpreters from around the globe will be listening in and interpreting in real-time. That’s ten translators who will be available for the 7-hour revival event.

“The interpreters do a wonderful job, and they usually alternate every 20 to 30 minutes,” said Kate Accetti, a sales and account manager at Interprefy. “So there are multiple reasons, just in terms of excellence and delivery, making sure no degradation of content is lost, and also just to give the interpreters a backup.”

The process for parishioners couldn’t be more simple. Before the event, users can download the app at the Apple Store or Google Play Store, click on Interprefy, and then Connect. Attendees will be given a code at the event, which they can use. Afterward, users can simply select their language.

The idea of using translators came to the Diocese of Brooklyn during the Synod process. They often heard that language was a barrier in multilingual events.

“We wanted to be able to have everybody come to the stadium and hear the reflections and prayers in their native language and the language there that they use to worship in,” Camporeale said.

The need to pray together as one diocese is something that Interprefy, a global provider of language access, understands all too well.

“Nelson Mandela, I think, said it best,” Accetti said. “You know, when you speak to a man in a language that he understands, it goes to his head. But when you speak to a man in his native language, it goes to his heart, and as a second language learner for me, I can attest to that because we feel things more impactful. I think when you’re talking about things like faith, something so deeply personal like this, you really want to have a true impact on somebody.”

The diocese hopes to expand the app’s use within the next 18 to 24 months, ensuring that everyone hears the word of the Lord in their native tongue.