Craftsman Uses Significant Wood to Build Custom Wheelchair for The Pope

In his workshop in the southwest of France, Paul de Livron is designing a wheelchair he will give to Pope Francis. Paul has been in one himself for almost 10 years after a hiking accident in Marseille. In May this year, following a General Audience, he showed the Pope the wheelchair prototype. Paul stated that this new model will be tailored specifically to Pope Francis’ needs.

It has large armrests for support when standing up. The backrest is made so that Pope Francis can sit for hours at a time. The handles at the back were deliberately made higher, so that Sandro Mariotti, the Pope’s assistant, does not have to bend over when pushing the chair.

Furthermore, the materials the wheelchair is made from are very special.

“Pope Francis’ wheelchair is made primarily of plywood from two countries: from Russia and Ukraine,” de Livron said. “I deliberately used a combination of planks from these two countries for the Pope’s wheelchair because he has regularly offered to be a mediator between them.”

The two armrests are made from pieces of the wood from the ceiling of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in France, which caught on fire in 2019.

“It’s from the southern part of the frame of Notre-Dame in Paris,” de Livron said. “The early thirteenth-century medieval frame that caught fire in 2019. I’m lucky enough to have been entrusted with it. Two beams that survived the fire were completely charred, but I managed to carve the armrests out of them. What’s interesting is that these are trees that grew around the year 1200, at the same time as St. Francis of Assisi–Pope Francis’ patron saint.”

The project costs €15,000 ($16,210.50 USD) and that has been raised by crowdfunding. The names of the donors will be given to the Pope together with the wheelchair during his papal trip to Marseille in September.

Diocesan Pakistanis Pray for Homeland Peace

by Katie Vasquez

Prayers for peace in Brooklyn, for a home thousands of miles away.

Houses belonging to Christians in Pakistan were ransacked, while churches were set ablaze.

It’s just the latest and one of the most destructive attacks on the minority Christian population in the country.

Sheran Mehak is a native of Pakistan who came to the United States in 2014, but she remembers how difficult it was to practice her faith before migrating to the West.

“We always had a little bit of fear of going to the church especially on big occasions like Easter and Christmas because that’s where a lot of mass attacks happen,” Mehak, a parishioner of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Windsor Terrace, said.

Now she’s praying hard for those still living there.

“Being from that part of the world, we know what it feels like to be a minority,” Mehak said. “And you can’t even practice your own faith with freedom.”

The church offers the only Urdu Mass in the Diocese of Brooklyn. It’s a chance for Pakistani Catholics to pray in their native language.

The pastor, Father Ilyas Gill, was also born and raised in Pakistan. He now works to unite Pakistanis from across the tri-state area, from New Jersey to Long Island.

Parishioner Samson Javed and other Pakistani Catholics came together Sunday to pray for their family and friends as the bishops of Pakistan called for a day of prayer.

“Showing solidarity with our Pakistan Christians as what recently happened in Jaranwala, so we show our grief and you know to come to pray for them,” said Javed.

Angel Dilawar moved to the Bronx from Pakistan, along with her twin sister, Amen, seven years ago.

While the Mass offers a connection to their roots, in the wake of the recent violence, it’s created a moment to reflect.

“It’s truly an immense privilege to unite as Pakistani Catholics and take pride in the fact that we can freely express our religious beliefs without the shadow of persecution or retribution and the fact that we have each other for support,” Dilawar said.

These Catholics will continue to pray for those who can’t practice their faith openly.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 08/22/2023

Pakistani Catholics at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Windsor Terrace, gathered to pray for their Christian family and friends who are dealing with religious violence in their home country.

President Joe Biden is vowing to rebuild Maui.

The Washington high school assistant football coach who was fired for praying on the field with his players is back on the job.

A designer in France is making a special wheelchair for Pope Francis.

Diocese of Brooklyn Students Help Food Pantry With Nonprofit Started to Overcome Anxiety

By Jessica Easthope

Angelina Aviles and Giuliana Astore are the shy girls in class. But when they’re out pounding the pavement, all that changes.

They’re bold for a good cause, raising money for the St. Athanasius food pantry with their nonprofit, Care 2 Create.

“That food has to support their family which can be up to four people, maybe more so it’s very difficult for them,” Aviles said.

“Here at St. Athanasius people always say thank you and it feels really nice,” Astore said.

Every Monday this summer, the girls have gone door-to-door at private businesses in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn asking for donations. They feel pulled to help out and make a push for others to do the same, because food insecurity is rampant.

St. Athanasius’ food pantry feeds 1,600 people a month, many are newly arrived migrants but funds are dwindling. Last year, they were given $36,000 to spend, this year it dropped to below $12,000. All while 66,000 more people are walking the streets of New York City.

Charlotte Montgomery, the director of the St. Athanasius’ food pantry says Aviles and Astore are making a difference.

“When they come they’re hands on with everything, it’s like what can we do and that’s really a blessing,” Montgomery said.

And for clients, seeing the next generation gives them hope.

“It’s hard for people to eat so it makes me very happy to see them helping,” Fredeline Osting, a client at the pantry, said .

The girls, who have been best friends for 10 years, now go to different Catholic academies in Brooklyn but still work together. They started Care 2 Create as a way to help with their social anxiety and make friends.

“I am definitely more outgoing,” Astore said.

“I’m able to start conversations, I’m able to hold conversations and use those skills to build friendships,” Aviles said.

Aviles’ mom Jessica tags along when the girls fundraise, but she lets them take the lead and doesn’t step in, even when they get pushback.

“They are going to face rejection throughout their entire lives and this is a way for them to learn how to face that rejection and in a respectful manner,” she said.

Some days it seems like hunger is unstoppable, but the girls are showing everyone and themselves what it means to never give up.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 08/21/2023

Two Catholic school students in Brooklyn, who say they have social anxiety, created a non profit called “Care to Create”.

Pope Francis has announced he’s writing a second part to his 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si”.

Pope Francis called to comfort a grieving mother whose son passed away after attending World Youth Day.

President Joe Biden visited Hawaii today to survey the damage left behind from those deadly wildfires.

Currents News Special Edition: World Youth Day 2023

Young people across the Diocese of Brooklyn are still on a high after their pilgrimage to Portugal.

The young people were brought to tears as they caught a glimpse of Pope Francis for the first time during the welcome ceremony.

Father Kevin Abels of the Diocese of Brooklyn says World Youth Day 1993, in Denver, opened his eyes to a vocation.

Seoul will host World Youth Day 2027.

Don’t Throw It Away: How Catholics Can Reverently Dispose of Sacred Objects

by Katie Vasquez

A book of blessings and Roman missal pre-date Father Alonzo Cox’s time as pastor of St. Martin De Porres Parish in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

After over a decade of helping to preach the gospel, it’s beginning to fall apart, so Father Cox says it’s got to go.

The Director of Liturgy for the Diocese of Brooklyn explains with religious items, you can’t throw them in the trash.

“Usually when someone gives you a crucifix or someone gives you a rosary bead, the first thing that someone would ask is father can you bless it,” Father Cox said. “That blessing is actually imparting you know God’s blessing upon this particular religious item so it’s important that when it breaks or when it gets some wear and tear that we treat it in the way that we brought it.”

Father Cox demonstrated how to reverently dispose of the two books, lighting a fire in a barrel in the courtyard.

“With liturgical books, they ask you to burn them but with other items you can bury them. like with the oils, rosary beads, other items you can sort of bury into the ground,” Cox said.

While it seems like a process that anyone can do at home, he advises against it, stating that the items should be treated with the same sentimentality of a family heirloom.

“They’re sentimental to us but they’re also sacred, so it’s important that we understand the sentimentality of these beautiful religious items,” he said. “But when it’s time to discard that, we do it in a reverent way, that reflects how sacred they are.”

Instead Father Cox suggests contacting your local parish, so they can reverently dispose of any religious item that can no longer be used for Christ.

Advocates for Mother Mary Lange Hail ‘Movement’ in Her Sainthood Cause

by Bill Miller

African American Catholics plan to visit the Vatican in November to promote the cause for Mother Mary Lange, one of six African American Catholics who are candidates for sainthood.

The cause for Mother Lange (1795-1882) began in 1991. She founded the first Catholic order of African American nuns. Nearly two months ago, Pope Francis signed a decree declaring her “Venerable” Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange.

Ralph Moore is a leader of Mother Lange’s cause for sainthood. He is also a member of the Social Justice Committee at St. Ann Parish in Baltimore.

He recently told Currents News that he was excited to see the 32-year effort “moved up to the next level,” adding: “We’re happy to see movement. The process seems to go somewhat gradually.”

Still, Moore said Mother Lange’s supporters want to make good use of the momentum. To that end, they’ve mailed 3,000 letters of support for the cause to the pope’s residence at the Vatican.

Moore said they also plan to hand deliver another 1,000 letters in person, either at an audience with the pope or an appointment with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which oversees the causes for sainthood.

“We intend to be there on All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 2023, which is also the first day of Black Catholic History Month,” Moore said. “And we’re working with a bishop to get an appointment or an audience for that particular time.

“And at that time, we will put these additional letters in Pope Francis’ hands.”

A miracle attributed to Mother Lange’s intercession is still needed for her beatification, followed by a second miracle in order for her to become a saint.

Mother Lange was born in Cuba to Haitian parents. She came to the United States around 1813 and settled near Baltimore. Later, she took her vows and founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence. The community still exists, serving in the U.S. and Costa Rica.

Mother Lange also became a driving force in the education of immigrant children. She was undeterred by the disadvantage of her being a black woman in Maryland, which was a slave state long before the Emancipation Proclamation.

According to the official website of her sainthood cause, “She used her own money and home to educate children of color.”

Moore noted, however, that supporters of Mother Lange’s cause also promote the causes of the five other black candidates for sainthood from the U.S.

The others are: Julia Greeley, who after her emancipation from enslavement joined the Secular Franciscan Order and promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Sister Thea Bowman, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, who was a noted educator and evangelist; Father Augustus Tolton, the first publicly known Black Catholic priest in the United States; Sister Henriette Delille, who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family; and Pierre Toussaint, a formerly enslaved philanthropist who supported many Catholic charitable works in Manhattan.

“There are no African American saints from the United States as recognized by the Catholic Church,” Moore stressed. “And yet, African Americans have been Catholic since the days of enslavement in this country.

“We have endured racial segregation, even within our churches, even during the enslavement itself. We have endured mass incarceration and mass poverty. And yet we’ve kept the faith; we’ve remained faithful to the Catholic Church. Recognition is important.”

To support the campaign for Mother Lange, email letters to Ralph Moore at VPCS@yahoo.com.

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 08/17/2023

Have a beat-up rosary or bible? A Catholic priest shows you how you can dispose of them the right way.

There’s been another ruling on the abortion pill mifepristone. It’s good news and bad news for pro-lifers.

Currents News speaks with a man who’s behind a big push to get Mother Lange canonized. The black nun was recently declared venerable by the Pope. She could be the first African American saint.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 08/16/2023

A retired flight attendant is walking hundreds of miles with a beverage cart as a tribute to victims of 9/11.

President Joe Biden plans to visit Maui on Monday. This as the death toll for the Hawaii wildfires rises to 106 people and hundreds are still missing.

The Catholic Church is on the ground in Hawaii helping the victims. We spoke with the Bishop Larry Silva of Honolulu about their recovery efforts.