World Youth Day Lisbon officially kicks off tomorrow, July 31, but hundreds of participants from the Diocese of Brooklyn are either already there or en route.
The National Black Catholic Congress was a rousing success. Thousands of the faithful gathered in Maryland for the annual meeting, including Bishop Robert Brennan and about 70 people from the Diocese of Brooklyn.
By Jessica Easthope
Dan Murphy puts out the banners and rings the bell at the St. Febronia Chapel in Hoboken. Most days it sits empty, but not today.
Every year on the feast of St. Ann, a crowd from the streets of the city processes into the century-old chapel to pray for the intercession of St. Febronia and the Madonna of Tindari.They’re the patron saints of Patti, Italy a small Sicilian town with a stronghold that once occupied Hoboken’s blocks.
“Basically they felt that their safety was put under her protection and their success here in this country also and they never wanted to forget that and continue that devotion,” said Dan.
Dan’s family is from Patti. Like many others, his devotion started during his childhood and now he’s helping keep it alive and the chapel running.
“It has allowed us to get in here and also foster our faith because it’s a connection to my past and it’s something I want hopefully my son to appreciate and the next generation to carry on,” he said.
The free-standing Catholic chapel doesn’t hold masses, but a monthly rosary. Constance Caiezza believes the Blessed Mother and St. Febronia are responsible for a shift in her faith, so she comes here to give thanks.
“The response that you get is very spiritual and you know when it happens because whatever God gives you is given with a great deal of peace and they’re like miracles,” she said.
And she knows that in the chapel others can find what she did.
“Whenever these doors are open people come by and marvel at the chapel and express such joy it’s so beautiful and to me this place is really a jewel, it’s significant and it’s holy, it’s a holy place,” said Constance.
A responsibility to carry on the devotion is exactly why Brendan Young finds himself in these pews. His family settled in Buffalo, New York when they immigrated from Patti. Now a New Jersey resident, he heard about the little chapel that could give him a big sense of self.
“I came into the chapel and I saw her and I saw the words on the base and it was just this beautiful sense of feeling at home right away, I felt this kinship and this feeling of home and this spiritual sense of peace so I’m very, very happy,” he said.
After 101 years, those who pray for St. Febronia and the Madonna of Tindari’s intercession say their faith and this chapel were built to last.
“The only way this is going to continue is if the next generation does something, takes some action,” said Dan.
“I think there’s a growing sense of shared responsibility and renewed interest of fervor and dedication to promoting our cultural but especially our spiritual heritage as Italian Americans and whatever I can do, nel mio piccolo in my own small way, I’ll be happy to do,” said Brendan.
So in the heart of Hoboken’s two square miles is a place that connects generations and continents to a faith that endures.
Hundreds of pilgrims from the Diocese of Brooklyn are packing for a pilgrimage.
Their destination is Lisbon, Portugal, where they will celebrate World Youth Day with Pope Francis.
The weeklong pilgrimage will help bring the youth closer to Christ.
Gabriel Roman and Victoria Lopez from St. Joseph’s Church in Astoria will be among the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who will be attending the event.
The duo stopped by Currents News before their flight to discuss what they were looking forward to most on the trip. Be sure to tune in to Currents News and The Tablet for continuing coverage of World Youth Day.
A small chapel dedicated to two Sicilian saints is reviving the faith of a New Jersey town.
The 5 World Trade Center building will be developed for housing. Some units will be set aside for 9/11 survivors and first responders.
Catholic advocates applaud a judge’s decision to block Biden’s policy restricting asylum seekers.
Young people from the Diocese of Brooklyn are preparing for World Youth Day. Currents News speaks to two pilgrims ahead of their flight.
Father Edwin Ortiz couldn’t believe what he was seeing the first time he witnessed Father Gerald Umoren walk the streets of Bensonhurst, visiting parishioners at their homes .
Father Ortiz, The Parochial Vicar at St. Athanasius Church said it will forever stand out as an example of what it means to be a shepherd.
“Father Gerald really has integrated himself in the community,” Father Ortiz said. “It’s beautiful to see the relationships that he has and has maintained throughout these 19 years. He really gives himself completely to the parish.”
This year, Father Umoren, who’s a visiting priest from Nigeria, is walking the streets making his visits for a 19th summer. He’s greeted with a “welcome home.”
That is what Brooklyn is to him.
“I found a home here,”Father Umoren “Whether you call it first home or second home, I found a home here.”
It’s the reason he keeps coming back. When Father Umoren first came, the church was struggling.
“During that time, the church’s sex scandal was at its peak,” Father Umorensaid. “But when I came I found that the faith was still very strong. There were people in church and the people were very warm.”
Father Umoren is a teacher by trade. At home he’s the principal of a high school and a university and seminary professor.
But when he comes to Brooklyn, he’s the student. He’s practicing his language skills, and saying Mass in both Spanish and Italian.
“What impressed me is he wasn’t just trying to learn the language but the culture,” Father Ortiz said.
His language skills have made him some great friends over the years, like Anita de Mattia.
“I see her as one of the few remaining veterans,” Father Umoren said. “I’m so encouraged by the faith she shows. She is one of those who will not miss morning mass.”
“He was accepted,” de Mattia said. “It’s your personality and what you do with it that speaks for yourself. It’s that and also what he says to you.”
De Mattia has been a parishioner at St. Athanasius for 55 years.
Like others who have come to know and love Father Umoren, she can’t help but mention his signature smile.
“When I think of Father Umoren I see a big smile,” de Mattia said. “He’s always smiling, you want a piece of that joy.”
Like Father Ortiz, she too has come to appreciate his signature advice.
“Don’t rush, think through things, just be calm and relaxed and know that I’m praying for you, that’s what he says,” de Mattia said.
“Father Gerald pulled me to the side one day and told me [to] slow down, relax,” Father Ortiz said. “You’re never going to enjoy the priesthood. It will become work and you’ll never enjoy it.”
Father Umoren will tell you he comes to Brooklyn because he enjoys it. It makes him feel good, but his real impact is how he makes others feel.
“I’ve learned so much from him and I know it’s something I’ll always hold especially for future ministry,” Father Ortiz said.
A dozen people were treated for non-life threatening injuries when a crane partially collapsed from the top of a building that was under construction in Hell’s Kitchen on Wednesday, July 26.
The crane initially erupted into flames before falling 45 stories onto Tenth Avenue and 41st Street.
The building was deemed stable but as a precaution the Croatian Parish of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and St. Raphael, which is roughly a block away, was evacuated.
Currents News Katie Vasquez joins us from the scene in Hell’s Kitchen with the very latest.
Brooklyn has undergone a major clean up after a major storm on Tuesday, July 26, caused damage in Bensonhurst, including a part of one church.
A tree fell on the rectory of St. Dominic.
Currents News is on the scene with the latest on that crane collapse in Manhattan that injured several and forced evacuations, including a church.
Wednesday, July 26, marked the feast day of Jesus’ grandparents, St. Joachim and St. Anne.
Some modern-day grandparents looked to the family of Christ at a Mass in Coney Island at the St. Joachim and Anne Nursing And Rehabilitation Center.
They were joined by Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens CEO, Monsignor Alfred Lopinto, in celebrating the liturgy.
Monsignor Lopinto said the feast is a special occasion for the seniors because this facility was made to take care of grandparents in need.
A former Catholic high school might be Mayor Eric Adam’s latest attempt at quelling the migrant crisis in New York City.
The building that once housed St. Agnes High School in College Point, Queens is reportedly going to become a temporary migrant shelter for 300 immigrant men for three months.