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Through the heat and rough seas, more than 300 Haitian migrants tried to come ashore, but instead had to be rescued at sea.
“You really feel horrible for the people that are going through that you can only imagine the atrocities that they’re facing back home were,” said Cuyler Brown.
Coast Guard and Border Patrol were working together to bring those migrants to safety. Four migrants even had to be transferred to a hospital for dehydration. There were young children and women, but mostly adult men.
“With over 300 migrants on board a vessel, they were extremely dehydrated in very dangerous conditions,” said Patrol Agent Adam Hoffner. “They were overcrowded, they had limited water and no life vests, so we had EMS on scene.”
About 200 migrants were transferred to a Coast Guard Cutter where they will be repatriated. At least 100 people swam to shore, jumping into the choppy water without life vests, where they had to be rescued.
This is at least the third time this year that migrants have been interdicted off the coast of Ocean Reef Club. Border Patrol says Saturday’s incident was part of a larger smuggling operation.
The Diocese of Brooklyn has a large Haitian community. Census data as of last year shows that there were more than 88,000 Haitian Americans or immigrants living in Brooklyn and about 40,000 in Queens.
Wounded Warrior Project hosts events like this one as an opportunity for warriors and their families to learn a new skill or hobby that might be challenging for them.
The Wounded Warrior Project benefits veterans and service members who suffered injuries or illnesses while serving in the military on or after Sept 11, 2001.
The Cathedral Basilica of St. James Sunday, Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. The Mass will also be broadcasted live on NET-TV
Currents News Staff and Paula Katinas
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — It promises to be one of the most memorable celebrations in the Diocese of Brooklyn in years, and everyone is invited.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York will be the main celebrant at a Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, to mark the 200th Anniversary of the establishment of St. James Parish in Downtown Brooklyn — which later became the Cathedral Basilica of St. James.
Bishop Robert Brennan and Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre will concelebrate the Mass, to take place at the cathedral, 250 Cathedral Place (located on Jay Street, one block north of Tillary Street), at 2 p.m.
Bishop Brennan is inviting the public to attend.
The historical significance of the cathedral is sure to be a recurring theme of the Aug. 14 Mass.
St. James was the first Catholic church built on Long Island. Before St. James was established in 1822, Catholics in Brooklyn and Long Island had to travel by ferry to Manhattan to attend church.
The cornerstone for the original St. James was laid on July 25, 1822 — on the Feast of St. James. Two hundred years later to the day, on July 25, 2022, Bishop Brennan celebrated the feast day Mass there.
When St. James was established, a cemetery was also built on the grounds. The current cathedral, constructed at the site in 1903 after fires had damaged the original structure, was built on top of the cemetery.
St. James was designated a cathedral in 1853 when the Diocese of Brooklyn was created. The title basilica was added to its name in 1982 when St. Pope John Paul II issued the designation. Three years earlier, during his first visit to New York City, the Holy Father made an unscheduled stop at the cathedral. He stopped his motorcade in front of the cathedral and got out of his car to greet the crowds who had gathered there.
The Mass will provide a unique opportunity, said Father Alonzo Cox, director of liturgy for the diocese.
“The greatest celebration that we have as Catholics is the Eucharist,” he told Currents News in an Aug. 3 interview. “So we will gather around the table of the Lord thanking God for the gift of 200 years, of being able to worship in this beautiful place of God’s house where so many wonderful milestones have taken place.”
Along with the day of celebration, the cathedral is also the subject of a new documentary, “The Story of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James,” that will premiere on NET-TV on Aug. 14 at 5 p.m.
Using historical footage, vintage photos, and interviews, the 30-minute documentary looks at the cathedral’s history, as well as the history of the diocese.
“The Story of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James” points out that the cathedral isn’t a relic of the past but a vibrant, modern religious institution.
“The same Holy Spirit 200 years ago inspired a generation of people to want to build up the church,” Bishop Brennan said in the documentary. “The same Holy Spirit works in the hearts of men and women today.”
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See has hinted at a possible papal trip to the war-torn country is in the works. The ambassador posted a series of tweets after meeting with the Holy Father Saturday saying the people of Ukraine ‘have been waiting for the pope’ and will “be happy to greet him before his trip to Kazakhstan.”
Pope Francis has, on several occasions, expressed interest in visiting Ukraine, but has also said such an outing would be complicated.
Joining Currents News to discuss more about the pontiff’s potential visit to Ukraine is John Allen, editor of Crux.
Saving the pope’s life can take you a long way and for one nurse at the Vatican, it meant a special promotion.
Meet Massimiliano Strappetti. Just a few days ago, he was the nursing coordinator for the Vatican’s Health Department. But now, he’s the pontiff’s ‘personal health assistant.’
Last year, Pope Francis credited Nurse Massimiliano Strappetti for advising him to undergo intestinal surgery.
Europe is experiencing one of its strongest heat waves in recent history. But in Rome, it’s snowing.
White rose petals drop from the ceiling of Saint Mary Major Basilica to commemorate the legend behind this church’s founding.
It holds that one summer night in the fourth century, the Virgin Mary appeared to a noble Roman couple in a dream and told them to build a Church in her honor where they found snow the next morning.
That same night, the pope had the same dream, and all three went to Rome’s Esquiline hill, which they found covered in snow despite the August heat.
It’s a story that still brings pilgrims from around the world to that same spot each Aug. 5, the feast of Our Lady of the Snows.
St. Mary Major was the first Marian church in Rome, built immediately after the council of Ephesus in 431 which proclaimed Mary as Mother of God.
Over 1,500 years after its construction, it continues to be a powerful statement on Mary’s central role in the Church.
The Diocese of Brooklyn will mark the 200th anniversary of the first Catholic Church to be built on Long Island: the Cathedral Basilica of St. James.
The Cathedral Basilica of St. James has a long history of generations that lived out their faith inside the church’s walls. Joining Currents News to talk about the Jubilee celebration and what the big day will look like is Father Alonzo Cox, Director of Liturgy for the diocese.
All are invited to attend the Mass on Sunday Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. – which will be celebrated by Bishops Robert Brennan and John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York.