Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria, Queens, has officially kicked off its centenary celebrations this August.

The festivities began with a Eucharistic procession and the recitation of the Rosary, where Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto lit a jubilee candle before a gathering of 300 parishioners.

The church, whose cornerstone was laid in 1924, has a rich history that reflects the enthusiasm of its early parishioners, leading to the formation of the Holy Name, Rosary, and Altar Societies.

Pastor Monsignor Fernando Ferrarese emphasizes that this community spirit remains strong as the church looks forward to new opportunities for celebration and service in the coming year.

By Katie Vasquez

With rosaries in hand, Christ leads the way in this procession through St. Francis College’s downtown Brooklyn campus.

“I want to do this because I truly want to make the rosary more known by our school,” said Serene Arana, a Senior at St. Francis College. “It’s a beautiful prayer.”

The prayers are a welcome break for the students, who have been so focused on their studies that they were losing their connection with Christ.

“This is, I guess technically, my first time praying in four months,” said Daniel Castro, a Junior at St. Francis College. “I sacrificed the only tutoring hours for physics to be doing this rosary procession today. So one of the best ways to get back into praying is also to sacrifice something to, I guess, carry my cross, if you will. And that’s why I felt so good.”

St. Francis says that’s exactly why they are holding this event. It’s one of many happening throughout October for “Franciscan Month,” a time when the Brooklyn school reflects on the life and legacy of their patron, St. Francis of Assisi.

Sophomore Isa Vidales organized this rosary procession with the goal of getting her classmates to connect with each other and explore their faith.

“I honestly was a little nervous going around the school,” Vidales said. “And sometimes I do feel afraid of my faith and being Catholic, and saying that I’m Catholic out of fear of judgment because I don’t want to be labeled as ‘the church person.’ But I am, so like, what the heck? You know, own up to it.”

St. Francis hopes that these students praying the Joyful Mysteries, along with the community members who joined them, will be some of the many to celebrate Franciscan values across the globe this month.

“Our ultimate goal is to get a designation of October as Franciscan Month around the world in 2026. This year we started in six dioceses in the general area,” “Next year, we’re going national with this.”

And from this event alone, the seeds of faith have already been planted.

“I think I’m ready to go back to it,” Castro said. “So, I will absolutely be spreading the gospel, going back to praying every night.”

“It’s truly fulfilling to start now because God is calling us at every age to be with Him and to pray to Him always,” Arana said.

The Brooklyn Catholic college already has more activities planned for Franciscan Month, including film screenings, volunteer opportunities, and a Mass.

By Katie Vasquez

It was an act of violence that shocked the world.

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing thousands of people and leaving many still in captivity a year later.

It also set off a series of protests, including the violent altercations that happened at Columbia University in April.

A tent city was constructed on campus, and more than one hundred people were arrested before the students cleared out.

Father Roger Landry, the Catholic chaplain at the Ivy League, said that behavior was not a reflection of the school.

“Everything was being focused on 300 students out of 37,000 at Columbia,” Father Landry said.

The situation was terrifying for Jewish students, as an alarming increase in anti-Semitism has occurred at colleges nationwide.

Columbia University is fighting that with an Anti-Semitism Task Force, where hundreds of Jewish and Israeli students share testimony of what they have experienced.

Father Landry says they are doing their best to combat hate.

“The first response to anti-Semitism is not to be anti-Semitic. And rather than have some type of irrational phobia against our Jewish brothers and sisters, actually love them,” Father Landry said. “For us as Christians, that should be super easy. Always. Our Savior was Jewish. His mother, our Blessed Mother, was Jewish. All the apostles were Jewish. St. Mary Magdalene was Jewish. We should have no other response than incredible love for Jews.”

But the Catholic ministry at the Manhattan campus is not taking sides, instead focusing on prayer and helping their fellow students.

“We reached out to our Jewish fellow students to just make sure they knew we had their back, to ask them what concretely they would need,” Father Landry said. “We reached out to our Muslim students, especially those from Palestine, to just see how we would be able to help them.”

One year later, Father Landry says the mood has improved, but it is still difficult for many.

“It’s not the greatest environment for students who have been described as the anxious generation, constantly being reminded every time they go on campus that there might be disruptions in one form or another,” Father Landry said. “And so there are still things that are not back to normal yet. And we pray that they will come back to normal. But it’s way better.”

And just like they did last October, Catholics here will continue to lean on their faith.

“We will be praying in a special way for continued peace and harmony on campus on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which is October 7th in our calendar,” Father Landry said. “We’ve been praying the rosary throughout the month of October.”