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New Queens Memory Care Unit Brings Comfort, Dignity to Adults With Dementia

By Katie Vasquez

The rooms on the 5th floor of Ozanam Hall of Queens Nursing Home will soon be filled with 50 residents all battling dementia. Cabrini hall is the newest memory care unit at the Queens facility. 

Dawn Carrillo can’t wait for her mother, Elba Schmidt’s move. It’s only one floor up but the space is tailored to help people like Elba who has advanced dementia. 

“Being here at all, it’s made all the difference in my mom’s care, the consistency and care, the kinds of care that she gets. You know, even with the spiritual support that we get, she gets visited by a Eucharistic sister, and she’s able to receive the sacraments,” said Carrillo. 

On Monday, Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto blessed the new unit which is the second of its kind at the Queens facility. The first, Carmel hall opened in February and was designed with Montessori principles which focuses on participation rather than instruction.  

“It’s not that they’re aging backwards, but their memories are. So they’re reminiscing from way back when, and they can’t do things for themselves as much as they can,” said the assistant director of nursing, Christine Pomijalski. 

The colorful artwork in the halls is meant to transport residents to places that are familiar.  

“It gives the residents something to remember that they live by and something to go and see and talk about. It’s not just words and walking. It’s giving them a purpose,” said Sister Philip Ann Bowden, the administrator. 

Dawn knows it will make her mother’s stay more restful. 

“The aesthetic is so important to people with dementia.and what will happen is it looks so much less institutionalized and a lot more like home. So there is some semblance of allowing them to feel more at ease and more at home,” said Carrillo. 

The residents will move in later this week. Staff will have a short turn around as they work to complete their third memory care unit which they hope to finish by January.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 8/19/2025

At Ozanam Hall in Queens, seniors with dementia are moving into a new memory care unit designed to feel like home.

A sacred cross was stolen from the tabernacle of a Brooklyn church – the pastor says that while it’s valued at $250, it’s worth much more than that to parishioners.

Catholic leaders are joining Pope Leo XIV in calling for peace after President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

In the Diocese of Brooklyn, Great Irish Fair Returns to Park Slope With New Director

By Currents News

The Great Irish Fair, a 44-year tradition celebrating Irish Catholic faith and heritage, will once again take place at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Park Slope, marking a shift from its former Coney Island venue.

The Sept. 13 event, a cornerstone of the Diocese of Immigrants, raises funds to support Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens, helping parents afford quality education for their children.

Brendan Gallagher, the fair’s new director, shares insights on this year’s event, explaining that Park Slope offers a more community-oriented setting, enhancing the fair’s vibrant atmosphere.

As first-time director, Gallagher is eager to elevate the fair with a mix of traditional Irish music, dance, and food, alongside fresh attractions to draw diverse crowds. “It’s a celebration of Irish pride and faith, months after St. Patrick’s Day, that brings our community together,” he tells Currents News.

Hundreds Gather in Breezy Point for Assumption Mass

By Katie Vasquez and Paula Katinas

BREEZY POINT — Anne Ryan, a parishioner of Blessed Trinity Parish in Breezy Point, spent time at Bay Side Beach on the evening of Aug. 15. But she wasn’t there to go swimming. She was there to attend Mass. 

Ryan, a parishioner for 60 years, was one of hundreds of people who participated in a special shoreline Mass marking the Feast of the Assumption.  

“It’s so special to be able to come down here to the beach and come to Mass. You feel close to God and close to nature by being here,” she said. 

The Feast of the Assumption marks the Blessed Mother’s ascension into heaven. Since the 15th century, Mass on the feast day has typically been celebrated near water, and often includes a blessing of the water by a bishop. 

Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated the Aug. 15 Mass as waves gently caressed the shoreline. Hundreds of people — sitting on beach chairs instead of in pews — took part in the celebration. Father Michael Gelfant, pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish, estimated that the Mass drew 750 of the faithful. 

The idea of Mary entering heaven with her body intact and without decay is a cause for celebration and a good sign for all of the faithful, Bishop Brennan told the congregation in his homily.  

“Mary gives us hope that God keeps his promises,” he said. 

The setting for the Mass was also inspiring, Bishop Brennan said afterward. “There is something about the beach that’s always refreshing. No matter what the weather is, there’s something beautiful here,” Bishop Brennan said. “We’re very blessed here in Brooklyn and Queens to be surrounded by it. And on a night like this, especially, we could be together on a nice, comfortable night and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.” 

During the Mass, Bishop Brennan blessed a container filled with bay water and sprinkled it on the congregation. 

The Mass on the shoreline, which has become a beloved tradition at Blessed Trinity Parish, is quickly gaining popularity outside Breezy Point. 

Regina Lessing, a parishioner of St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Bay Ridge, made the trip to Queens from Brooklyn. 

“This is my third time. I love coming here for this,” she said.” It makes you think about how God is everywhere. I love being near the water.”  

Parishioners look forward to the Mass every year, Father Gelfant said. In part, that is because Catholics also believe that the blessed waters hold special healing powers.   

“We bless the water for safety, even though it’s towards the end of the summer,” he explained. “But also, then people will either put their foot in the water, or they will take water for their holy water fonts in the house.  

“They feel that after the water is blessed, there is a healing presence of the Blessed Mother to help him.” 

The Mass came at a time when Father Gelfant and parishioners were still recovering from the shock of a three-alarm fire that tore through St. Edmund Church on Holy Saturday, April 19. 

Blessed Trinity Parish, which is made up of St. Edmund, St. Thomas More, and St. Genevieve, is planning to rebuild the church.  

Tim Nolan, a Blessed Trinity parishioner, said he often prays for St. Edmund Church to return to life.  

“I remember going to it that night. It was a horrible scene,” he said. “So yeah, I’ve been praying for that for a while.” 

Ryan said she is confident St. Edmund Church will make a strong comeback.  

“As soon as people heard about the fire,” she said, “they started doing what they could to help. Breezy people are special people.” 

Father Gelfant, who noted that the church’s faith formation school and a meeting room were also impacted, vowed to rebuild after the fire. 

“It’s going to take some time,” he said. “But we’re going pretty fast, and I think we’ll be able to get it done.” 

 

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 8/18/2025

Hundreds of Catholics traded in pews for beach chairs to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption during a seaside Mass in Breezy Point, Queens with Bishop Robert Brennan.

Currents News is looking at the first 100 days of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, highlighting his leadership, approachability, and connection with young people around the world.

Archaeologists have discovered that many residents returned to live in the ruins of Pompeii after the catastrophic 79 A.D. volcanic eruption, shedding new light on the ancient city’s history.

Marian Solemnity Explained: What Catholics Celebrate on Feast of The Assumption

By Jenna MacDermant

Pope Leo XIV is at Castel Gandolfo in Italy for his second break of the summer. During his time there he will be celebrating the feast of the Assumption of Mary, a solemnity with deep roots that was only officially recognized in recent history. 

The Feast of the Assumption has been celebrated since the first centuries of Christianity. But the solemnity recognized every year on August 15th is a little over 70 years old.

“We can say that already in previous centuries–I am referring, for example, to medieval times–the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary already existed, that is, it was not only born when Pius XII defined the dogma on November 1, 1950.

A dogma is a definite truth of faith. That is, it must be shown in divine revelation and must have been handed down through tradition from the first centuries of the Church.

“The Church does not create revealed truths. The Church is the depository of Revelation and is at the service of Revelation,” explained Vincenzo Battaglia, a dogmatic expert “The only author of Revelation is God, God thrice holy, as the dogmatic constitution Dei Verbum of the Second Vatican Council teaches. Jesus, the Christ, is the fulfillment, the fullness of Revelation.”

A dogma can be proclaimed through a Council or when the Pope pronounces it “ex cathedra.” The Assumption of Mary was the most recent dogma announced by the Church, under the pontificate of Pope Pius XII.

RELATED: The Profound Significance of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven

Since then, Holy Fathers have celebrated this special honor for the Mother of God. 

“On the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, we contemplate the Mother of God participating with her body and soul in the glory of heaven,” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said. “In her, we see already realized the fullness of life to which we are all called. She is the first creature who, with her whole self, body and soul, victoriously crosses the finish line of Heaven. She shows us that Heaven is within reach. How come? Yes, Heaven is within reach, if we too do not give in to sin, if we praise God in humility and serve others generously.” 

Knights of Columbus Pray for Canonization of Blessed Michael McGivney

By Katie Vasquez

Catholics are offering prayers for a man who served as a priestly example to the Knights of Columbus: Blessed Michael McGivney. 

Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated Mass with the knights at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, on Wednesday, August 14, to mark the feast of the New Haven, Connecticut parish priest who started the fraternal organization in 1882. 

“We make our way now in the 21st century, to carry on the good work that he’s done, the good work he began,” Bishop Robert Brennan told Currents News. “He worked with these emerging communities, people who were struggling to get by, to make their way in this new land.” 

More than 140 years and millions of members later, the knights are now praying for his canonization cause. 

“That a second miracle attributed to his intercession may open the way for him to be proclaimed a saint of the universal Church. we pray to the lord,” Father Michael Gelfant, associate state chaplain of the New York State Council for Knights of Columbus, prayed. 

Blessed Michael McGivney’s legacy has continued to this day, and Bishop Brennan says that’s in part because of the groundwork he laid. 

“Michael McGivney, you might say, was a little bit ahead of his time,” said Bishop Brennan, “this was a lay run organization, which now is probably one of the strongest in the church, still devoted to the very same principles of protecting families, of building of faith communities, helping men to be good husbands and fathers.”

Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 8/14/2025

The Knights of Columbus are hoping to make their founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, a saint. Now their campaign is getting a spiritual boost from Bishop Robert Brennan and the Diocese of Brooklyn.

In a matter of weeks the Catholic Church will be welcoming two new saints: Blesseds Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati will be canonized on September 7.

While at Castel Gandolfo Pope Leo XIV is preparing to celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary. The solemnity with deep roots was only recently officially recognized in history.