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Diocesan Lenten Pilgrimage Stop Looks to Jubilee and Future Saint Carlo Acutis

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.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 4/9/2025

The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage makes a stop at Queens church with a special connection to Blessed Carlo Acutis.

At the latest Jubilee celebration in Rome pilgrims from around the world learned how to save lives and do CPR.

Students in Brooklyn and Queens took part in a competition of the sharpest minds – Currents News introduces you to the young mathletes who are at the top of their arithmetic game.

Top Mathletes From Brooklyn and Queens Compete in Diocesan Math Bee

By Currents News Staff

Kids across the Diocese of Brooklyn competed in a battle of sharp minds to find the top mathletes of Brooklyn and Queens!

Sixth to eighth grade students took the stage at Saint Helen Catholic Academy in Howard Beach for the Diocese’s Upper Class Math Bee.

With no pencil or paper allowed, these young math whizzes answered complex equations all in their heads, as family and teachers cheered them on.

Pilgrims Learn Lifesaving CPR at Jubilee Celebration in Rome

By Currents News

At the latest Jubilee celebration in Rome, pilgrims from around the world learned how to save lives during an event for the Jubilee of the Sick and Health Care Workers.

The American Heart Association guided tourists, pilgrims and even religious sisters through CPR basics using the beat of the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive” to keep time on the chest compressions.

Instructors say the lessons showed that saving a life only takes minutes to learn, and it’s not just for healthcare professionals. 

Catholic Academy Debate Club Sees Impressive Inaugural Performance

By Currents News Staff

A newly formed debate club made an impressive inaugural performance over the weekend. 

The team from Saint Francis of Assisi in Astoria went to their very first tournament last Saturday, where they were the only Catholic middle school among over 700 debaters from elementary, middle, and high schools across New York and New Jersey.

The debate club took home some winnings, including first place in best individual speaker and middle school beginners, and earned the whole team second place for the most wins.

The St. Francis of Assisi debate program will be piloted and introduced to other schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn. 

La Salle Academy Hydroponic Lab Offers Lesson in Service to Community

By Katie Vasquez

Fresh pieces of lettuce and micro cilantro are grown in the heart of Manhattan, by a group of 21 students at La Salle Academy, an all-boys Catholic school. 

“It’s also fun learning about plants and how to grow them indoors and outdoors,” Nico Calder, a senior at La Salle Academy, told Currents News.

The “green team,” a club at the East Village New York City school, was started by biology teacher John Neering when he joined the school’s staff eight years ago. 

“They had five of these towers, but they were in disrepair, and so I was tasked to get them up and running,” he explained.

The kids are growing produce and herbs using hydroponics, a farming technology that doesn’t use soil. It has helped to cultivate an interest in gardening and science for the students, like senior John Diego.

“It’s growing food in New York City. You don’t see that, especially in these hydroponic towers, [it’s] something I’ve never seen before,” said Diego. 

The green team has also taken over part of La Salle’s rooftop space for the project, and they’ve done so to learn a lesson that goes beyond the classroom.

Once a week, the students take 10 pounds of their crops to a local senior center, food banks, and restaurants.

“We’re worried about food insecurity, especially in the city. A lot of people can’t afford it,” said Neering.  

The students are using the lab-grown greens for a good cause: to give back to their community.

“I think it’s awesome that they’re doing it. I think it’s really important stuff for young people to learn about horticulture, things like that. I have a garden in my house, and it’s like my therapy,” Brendan Neville, culinary director at Cooper’s Craft and Cocktails, which receives some of La Salle’s greens, told Currents News. 

The effort is part of the school’s mission, which written right on the building’s walls: “enter to learn, leave to serve.” Their teacher says that can’t come from a textbook.

“I want them to start serving before they even leave. So that’s ingrained in them to do,” said Neering. 

It is a seed that has sprouted in young minds, thanks to a city garden. 

“Just seeing the good that we do, it puts a smile on my face,” said Calder.  

“The lady we were delivering to, she just got so happy and started hugging all the kids I took there, so that was one of my favorite memories,” said Diego. 

The team is looking at expanding their crops and are seeing what other food they can grow in this learning space.

Hate Crime Investigation Launched After Baby Jesus Statue Smashed at Astoria Church

By Currents News and Paula Katinas

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a male suspect who walked into Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria and smashed a statue of the Baby Jesus following Mass on April 6.

The incident is being investigated as a hate crime by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force.

Police said the unidentified individual walked into the church, located at 21-47 29th St., at approximately 1:05 p.m. and smacked a religious statue to the floor, causing it to break into pieces. The individual then left the church and fled the scene on a bicycle.

Msgr. Fernando Ferrarese, the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, said the man arrived at the conclusion of the noon Spanish-language Mass and approached a priest who was talking to parishioners on the sidewalk outside the church. 

“The priest who did the Mass was outside greeting the people, and this young man came on a Citi Bike and stopped there and went up to the priest and said just one word, ‘Die,’ ” Msgr. Ferrarese said.

The suspect then entered the church and walked up to the altar area, where a deacon was blessing a statue of the Baby Jesus that a woman had brought to church to be blessed.

“The deacon was in the process of blessing [the statue],” Msgr. Ferrarese said. “It had been placed on the altar rail, and this young man came up to where the deacon was blessing the statue and hit the statue off the altar rail. It crashed to the floor and broke.” 

The deacon tried to hold the suspect there, but the man got away and left the church through a side door and fled the scene on a Citi Bike. No one was injured in the incident. 

Police from the 114th Precinct responded to a 911 call from a parishioner and questioned witnesses.

According to Msgr. Ferrarese, the suspect, is the same man who came into the church on April 1, and spat into a Holy Water font.

If he could speak to the suspect, “I would want to know why (he’s) so angry,” Msgr. Ferrarese said. 

“The spitting in the holy water font, the breaking of the statue of Baby Jesus, the going up to the priest and saying the word ‘die,’ speaks of someone who is very, very angry,” he added.

As for the parishioner whose statue was smashed, she was upset about the incident but was also undaunted, according to Msgr. Ferrarese — “She said she’ll buy another statue.”

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 4/8/2025

A Catholic high school is using the science behind hydroponics to fight hunger in New York City.

The NYPD is on the lookout for a man they say smashed a statue of Baby Jesus at a Queens church.

A new exhibition in Rome is set to display rarely seen treasures of art by Caravaggio.

Pilgrims Walk Christ’s Road to Calvary at Our Lady of Hope Church

By Currents News

The Diocese of Brooklyn is on a Lenten Pilgrimage, visiting churches across Brooklyn and Queens leading up to the Easter Triduum.

The pilgrims went into the weekend walking Christ’s road to Calvary.

Bishop Robert Brennan led his flock through the 14 Stations of the Cross on April 4 at Our Lady of Hope Church in Middle Village, Queens.

The Brooklyn shepherd then took part in Eucharistic adoration with the pilgrims.