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“Counting Down to Notre Dame’s Reopening” Special Edition

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is getting ready to reopen its doors this weekend, five years after flames tore through the landmark. We’re taking a look at the time that has passed since then.

Francophone parishioners at St. Paul and St. Agnes Church in Brooklyn were devastated to see the flames but held onto hope and took comfort in their faith.

Thousands of people, from architects to artisans, have worked to fulfill French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2019 promise that Notre Dame would be restored entirely in just five years.

The cathedral’s reopening has stirred a resurgence in faith: a record-breaking number of people were baptized in France this Easter.

Tonight on Currents News: “Counting Down to Notre Dame’s Reopening” Special Edition

By Currents News

An iconic part of the city of lights – Notre Dame Cathedral – is standing tall and only hours away from opening to the public.

Today’s scene was a completely different picture five years ago when the Paris parish was engulfed in flames. Since then, almost a thousand people per day have worked to restore this piece of Catholic history. 

Tonight at 7, in a special edition of Currents News, we take a look back at the path to Notre Dame’s reopening, honoring the iconic Paris church’s impact on the world and celebrating its renewed future as an international symbol of faith.

School Retreat at Bay Ridge Catholic Academy Inspires Students to Deepen Their Faith and Fellowship

A middle school retreat at Bay Ridge Catholic Academy in Brooklyn aimed to teach students how to deepen their relationship with God. The event, held on Tuesday, brought together 80 students from three Catholic schools: Bay Ridge Catholic Academy, St. Ephrem Catholic Academy, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy.

The retreat featured testimonies and skits performed by missionaries from NET Ministries, a Catholic organization that sends evangelization teams across the U.S. to inspire faith in young people. Through these engaging presentations, students experienced a blend of faith and fellowship, encouraging them to reflect on their spiritual journey.

Organized by the Diocesan Youth Ministry Office, the retreat specifically targeted seventh and eighth graders, helping them prepare for the transition to high school by fostering a deeper understanding of their faith. Many students expressed that the experience opened their eyes to new ways of connecting with Christ, providing spiritual guidance for their future educational paths.

New Look at the Immaculate Conception Center Unveiled with Mass and Blessing

by Katie Vasquez

This sacred space hasn’t been touched by a paintbrush since 1998 but now the chapel inside the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens has received a facelift.

The new look only highlights its divine purpose. 

Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated mass at the newly renovated chapel on Wednesday, blessing the space that has housed diocesan celebrations for decades.

While also providing a place of prayer for men studying the priesthood.

During the four months that the chapel was under renovation, senior priests in residence at the Immaculate Conception Center, like Monsignor Edward Doran had to celebrate mass in the Bishop’s chapel below. 

Some of the work D’Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studio did that they have been waiting for

includes painting around the stations of the cross to make them pop against the white background and adding symbols that pay homage to the blessed mother.

However the change priests say will make the biggest difference is bringing the tabernacle into the chapel. 

Before, there was a separate area that priests had to go to in order to access the blessed sacrament. The move reinforces the main reason people of faith enter the sacred space. 

“It’s nice to be home. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been able to get inside and then to pray. but to have the blessed sacrament and now to have celebrated mass. It’s a great gift. and it reminds us of what a great gift this whole center is, and this chapel in particular,” said Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn. 

“Having a prestigious place like this, where priests have history here, formative years, formation, it means a lot to them. So it means a lot to us to be given that responsibility and that trust to really beautify the place,” said Anthony George, the president of D’Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studio.

“It’s obviously always been a place of worship, but now every element of it sings out. Worship the lord, worship Jesus. What a beautiful setting and tremendously uplifting for the senior priests. I pray here every day for the active priests, for the Diocese of Brooklyn, for our many, many parishioners and those who do not know us yet that through our prayers and through our worship, they may come to become one with Jesus,” said retired priest, Monsignor Edward Doran. 

During this Jubilee year, Bishop Brennan says as we make all things new again, we celebrate what’s been and look forward with hope and joy to what lies ahead.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 12/4/2024

The Immaculate Conception Center’s chapel has long been a place of prayer and celebration in the Diocese of Brooklyn. But today, the decades-old area of worship is unveiling its new look.

President-elect Donald Trump will attend the reopening celebration at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on Saturday, Dec. 7, marking his first foreign trip since winning the U.S. election.

A faithful Brooklyn parishioner has fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a published author, and shares how his murder mystery novel takes inspiration from his own life and faith journey.

In New Business Book, Author Says a Strong Faith Life Is Key To Successful Entrepreneurship

By Currents News

Have you ever thought of starting a business but are worried about how you’d balance work and family life?

One successful entrepreneur, Brian Sullivan, is the author of the book Entrepreneurial Trinity and says the key to seeing it through is adding a strong faith life to the mix.

The Diocese of Brooklyn native joins Currents Ness to speak from experience, noting how his Catholic education shaped him as a businessman and sharing how those values can be applied to various areas of life. 

To purchase a copy of Sullivan’s book, go to entrepreneurialtrinity.com.

St. Kevin Catholic Academy Students Spread Holiday Cheer With Pajama Drive for Children in Need

By Katie Vasquez

During the season of giving, students at St. Kevin Catholic Academy in Flushing, Queens are learning the true spirit of the holidays by doing a good deed for the community and donating new pajamas to children who need them.

This year the New York City school is taking part in the “Pajama Program,” a national nonprofit that provides sleepwear and other items that promote healthy sleep to kids.

“When I donate, I always feel happy inside of my heart, and I know that,” Daniel Fernandez, a 7th grader at the school tells Currents News. “I hope that they will be grateful for the stuff that we donate.”

“I feel like it’s an amazing for the kids who don’t have, are less fortunate than others. And I feel like it makes them feel – it makes you – feel good,” says fellow seventh grader Aydin Romero. 

“All kids should have, a safe home should always be warm at night,” adds classmate Charlotte Rodriguez. 

Studies show that a clean pair of pajamas can promote proper hygiene and quality of sleep, which in turn helps students focus on their studies.  

“Hopefully a lot of those kids would benefit from this program,” Eliana Montalvo, who is part of the St. Kevin Catholic Academy Parent Association, explains.

The association hopes this drive will teach their kids a lesson on helping their fellow man.

 “I think that many of us send our kids to Catholic school not only for the education, but for the morals and really understanding to be empathetic and to always give back. So this was a project that we felt like the whole school could take part of,” she says.

It’s an experience and learning opportunity that could already be sinking in for the dozens of students who have donated already. 

“I think helping kids do better in school is very important. I think school is very important,” notes Rodriguez. 

“There are kids who just wish they had what you had and you wish you had more,” says Romero. “So I feel like you should be grateful for what you have in the beginning.”

“It feels great in my heart to know that I’ve contributed to the less fortunate,” adds Fernandez.  

The school plans to continue to collect pajamas for the needy, as long as the demand is there. 

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 12/3/2024

On Giving Tuesday, students at St. Kevin Catholic Academy in Queens are collecting pajamas for the less fortunate, believing that a good night’s sleep can lead to better grades.

Students from Bay Ridge Catholic Academy, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and St. Ephrem’s are gathering for a diocesan middle school retreat, strengthening their faith as they prepare for high school.

Diocese of Brooklyn native and author of “Entrepreneurial Trinity,” Brian Sullivan, shares how balancing business, family and faith is key to success.

From Holy Name of Jesus Church Food Pantry Volunteer to Published Author, an Unwavering Journey

By Katie Vasquez

Every week, you can find Philip Lehpamer at the food pantry at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Windsor Terrace.

Committing one of the corporal acts of mercy.

“It’s part of being a Christian to recognize that people have legitimate differing needs and to try to understand what it is that would really help them,” said Philip Lehpamer, parishioner of Holy Name of Jesus Church.

During the pandemic, the retired actuary, decided to pursue a lifelong goal.

“The mathematician who works for an insurance company?” Lehpamer said. “That’s the easy answer.”

Becoming a published author—a feat he chased hundreds of times with little success.

“I tried them,” Lehpamer said. “Never anything. No total, total rejection.”

Philip’s book, Unwavering Love, is a murder mystery set in 1970s Chicago—where he grew up.

“Parker, the detective, besides being a family man, is also an actuary, which was my profession,” said Lehpamer. “That allows me to write with absolute confidence about that phase of the detective.”

It’s a work of fiction, but it’s based on aspects of his own life—including his faith.

“I wanted to reflect Catholicism,” said Lehpamer. “I wanted to show every detective also had a religious side. In the case of my fictional character, Parker Spooner, his wife, and their children, they are definitely a prayerful family.”

“God’s love is unconditional or unwavering,” Lehpamer added. “But people in marriage reflect unwavering love.”

And now, at almost 83 years old, he hopes his book encourages others to never give up.

“If you have a dream, you have to keep pursuing it,” Lehpamer said. “I would never give up on anything.”