A former deacon at St. Sebastian Church in Queens was sentenced Wednesday on charges stemming from sexual misconduct with minors.
St. Joseph the Worker’s robotics teams racked up the wins at the first Lego League Robotics City Championship.
We’ll find out how one neighborhood pub gets ready for the big St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
Investors looking to grow their hard-earned money are facing increasingly volatile markets in 2023.
As stocks continue to tumble amid fears about banks many are worried about their money.
But financial expert Lynnette Khalfani-Cox has some tips on how to invest and keep your money safe.
“Take the time to educate before you allocate and you know, make sure that you do your homework,” Khalfani-Cox said.
Investors should do their own research before investing in any market.
Once you understand the risks, figure out how much you can invest, especially amid soaring inflation.
You don’t have to put a whole lot of money into an investment.
“Small amounts of money count too, when it comes to investing,” Khalfani-Cox said. “So often people fail to even begin because they say, well I don’t have $5,000 to start or I don’t have a big lump sum of money to put into the markets.”
It’s important to diversify your investments and avoid an over-concentration in one area, according to Khalfani-Cox.
Especially after two main banks for crypto companies shut down this month, adding another blow to the crypto industry, which is still struggling to recover from last year’s crippling “crypto winter” that pushed bitcoin down nearly 65 percent.
“Don’t just throw your money into something in the short run, thinking, okay, ‘this is gonna be part of my get rich quick scheme,’” Khalfani-Cox said. “It simply doesn’t work that way.”
Most importantly, you should know your limits. No matter how much research you’ve done, be a humble investor.
If you’re looking for more ways to protect your bottom line consider talking to a financial advisor.
After the failure of two banks that mostly catered to the tech industry, stocks are down amid fears about banks.
Pope Francis dedicated a few words to his home country of Argentina after dignitaries from the country celebrated the pontiff and his 10-year anniversary.
And we’ll take you to an art show at the Emmaus Center in Brooklyn, where artist Anne Goetze’s paintings of Cloistered Nuns, goes on display.
At one church in Queens, it was a day of prayer for the incarcerated on Sunday.
The Bishop of Brooklyn, Robert Brennan, celebrated Mass with the families of incarcerated people at Our Lady Of Sorrows Church in Corona.
The liturgy was hosted by “Thrive For Life Ministry,” which helps transform the lives of the incarcerated behind and beyond prison walls.
By John Alexander and Jessica Easthope
Don and Diane Competello have more in common than your average husband and wife. The married couple, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in June, have both served as music directors at St. Margaret Roman Catholic Church in Middle Village for the last 12 years, and they are both longtime educators.
Don has been an eighth-grade math teacher at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ozone Park for 22 years, and Diane is the Principal at St. Athanasius Catholic Academy in Bensonhurst.
Don’s music ministry extends back to his 23 years as music director at St. Stanislaus Kostka in Maspeth, which followed a three-year stint at Blessed Sacrament in Cypress Hills.
In fact, Don has been part of the music ministry at St. Rita’s, his childhood parish in East New York, since he was 18 years old. Today Don splits his time working at St. Margaret on weekday mornings and on weekends, and teaching in the afternoon. Both vocations matter greatly to him, but he proudly admits that he and his wife have worked for the church their whole lives.
The Competellos share a deep knowledge of liturgical music. “When we teach the choir, she teaches one section and I teach another section. We work with each group separately and then we combine. We actually have two keyboards, the organ plus a very good keyboard. She plays at the same time I play and we both have different parts,” Don explained.
Don believes that music is an important component in the Mass and in attracting people to come to church. “Music is integral to the liturgy today, so we are always working towards fuller and greater participation on every level,” he explained. “My main objective in making music is to entice people to sing, and they love to sing the hymns.”
Diane concurs and believes that music can truly transport you to another place.
“It just shuts out the rest of the world and it’s a different way to bring you to prayer,” she said. “It’s a gift so as people are sometimes thinking about things and want to escape from the world, they can find a prayerful state and isolate themselves and just get caught up in the music and realize that it’s all about praising God.”
Father Robert J. Armato has been the pastor at St. Margaret’s since 2017. He was immediately struck by the talents of the Competellos and called them a talented, gifted, and prayerful couple, who are always ready to serve the parish.
“We share our love of liturgy, our faith, and our Sicilian heritage,” explained Father Armato. “They are a very talented couple, and they have been working with our English and Italian adult choirs and now are in the process of developing a children’s choir to enhance our Sunday Masses and special occasions.”
Don is quick to point out the difference at a choir Mass. St. Margaret has 23 people in the choir and they sing at a Mass that is a combination of more traditional pieces including Latin Motets, which he admits people seem to enjoy.
They don’t necessarily have to participate, but they can sit back and enjoy the music. Diane feels there is an added spirit with a choir group and that the notion of prayer resonates even more deeply with a choir Mass. “We all know why we’re there, and that’s to praise God and try to bring others to praise God.”
Linda Mircik, a member of the St. Margaret Choir, called it an honor to work with Diane and Don because they make everyone feel welcome.
“Don keeps the bar accessible to all: the only thing necessary to join is a pulse,” she laughed. “They make sure that every voice contributes to the liturgy and thus engages others in a deeper way through the music ministry.”
Choir member Marlene Duffy cites Don’s extraordinary talent on the organ and agrees with Mirick that Diane and Don are exceptionally welcoming to new members.
“That is just how they are … always ready to accept someone new. They have made us a family and not just a choir. It is a joy to sing with them,” Duffy added.
Among Diane’s favorite hymns is a choral piece the choir performed last year called “On the Lips of An Angel,” which combined with the Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria.” “It’s just a beautiful piece that speaks about the angel’s message to Mary and how she responded. It’s just incredibly beautiful to listen to,” explained Diane.
Another psalm Diane is partial to is “Bless O Lord the Work of Our Hands,” that she recalls a six-year-old first-grade student of hers performing to perfection back when she taught at St. Elizabeth before becoming a Principal at St. Athanasius.
With Diane’s encouragement, the child went on to pursue a career in music. Diane recently ran into the young lady at a wedding where she asked Diane if she remembered when she let her sing that psalm. “I said, no, I didn’t let you sing the psalm, you gave that gift to the whole school. She just had the voice of an angel,” Diane added.
Arlene Muller called it a blessing to be a member of St. Margaret’s choir. She cites Diane and Don’s dedication, knowledge, skill, enthusiasm and their kindness and appreciation toward the members of the choir for making it the success it has become.
“The most important element of Don and Diane Competello’s music ministry is their spirituality that permeates their ministry and is communicated to us,” said Muller. “It is evident that their main focus is to use their talents and help us fully develop and use our talent to glorify God and to facilitate worship. Their motto is ‘In Our Music God is Glorified,’ and on several occasions, they have reminded us that we are using the gifts God has given us as our gift back to Him.”
Diane said that it is difficult to put into words the secret to their 50 years together. She simply calls it a gift from God and is also quick to sing Don’s praises.
Don recently worked with a class of eighth graders for the annual Christmas pageant and had them sing the Christian song “Emmanuel (Our God is With Us).”
While the once predominantly Italian Queens neighborhood has changed, the need for an all-Italian Mass has lessened, and now St. Margaret hosts a 10 a.m. bilingual Mass where Don sings a combination of Italian, Latin and English hymns. Don can also sing in Spanish whenever it’s required.
Both Don and Diane also contribute their talents to performing at other parishes in the diocese when the need arises. Recently, Don was asked to perform at St. Michael, and Diane performs on Saturdays at the 5 p.m. Mass at St. Elizabeth in Ozone Park.
The couple, who have four children and 10 grandchildren, credit their faith with keeping their family close. “I was very blessed with my children and grandchildren, and I worked for some very good priests over the years that were very good to me and allowed me to earn a living doing what I love to do,” admitted Don.
Twenty-three-year-old Kristiana Wolfe had been a student at St. Margaret School from Pre-K through eighth grade and joined the St. Margaret choir in 2019.
“Although I am one of the youngest members, I always feel like I have a place in the choir,” explained Wolfe. “Mr. and Mrs. Competello have led the choir and all the music ministry at St. Margaret Parish with grace, kindness, and a passion for what they do. Not only are they a beautiful couple, but they are very talented. They both know so much about music, the faith, the liturgy, and leadership. Since they both have decades of experience in Catholic education, they know how to lead a group.”
As far as working together as a team, Don admits that he couldn’t do his job without Diane. “Sometimes the choir laughs because I’m always relying on her to do things because she is so much more organized than I am,” he added.
And both agree that the secret to their ministry is the passion and honesty for the music that they are able to convey.
“We’re just people who have worked for the church our whole lives in some capacity or other,” said Don. “When the kids were growing up and my wife wasn’t working full time, financially it wasn’t easy, but God always provided, and I have to say, somehow we always pulled through. And music has always been my passion, so I was truly blessed.”
A court case will be getting underway this week that could put a stop to half of the abortions that happen in the U.S.
As New York City continues to deal with the migrant crisis Mayor Eric Adams plans to open two more shelters.
More than 100 students and teachers at Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge shaved their heads or donated their hair in support of the fight against childhood cancer.
A Queens couple who’s been making music together since they were kids, long before they fell in love and got married, are music directors at St. Margaret’s Church in Middle Village.
A group in Brooklyn and Queens is celebrating over a hundred years of serving Catholic police officers.
The Brooklyn-Queens Holy Name Society marked 101 years of service on Sunday with a procession, Mass and breakfast.
Bishop Robert Brennan was there to honor officers who have earned the title “Cop of the Year.”
In his homage to the officers, the bishop recalled his own family ties to the force as he thanked them all for their sacrifices.
The society also gave out scholarships to three young women who will be attending Catholic high schools.
The Diocese Of Brooklyn is about halfway through its Lenten Pilgrimage.
St. Rose of Lima in Rockaway, Queens was the next stop for the diocese’s Lenten Pilgrimage. Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated Mass at the church with the parish’s Catholic academy yesterday.
This was the 19th of 42 churches taking part in the pilgrimage this year.
Bishop Brennan also prayed the rosary with the young parishioners.
Since Ash Wednesday, pilgrims have been visiting a different parish in Brooklyn and Queens almost every day in an effort to experience the beauty of the church and the community there.
Pieces of the Emerald Isle encased in glass forever.
The windows inside St. Vincent de Paul Church in Bayonne, New Jersey illuminate the sanctuary, even on the cloudiest of days. The church, which was built in the 1920s by the city’s Irish immigrants and named a national landmark in 2011, is the only one in the United States where you can see the work of Harry Clarke.
“Harry was a book illustrator first so the attention to detail was incredible,” said art historian Peter O’Brien.
“A lot of beautiful details in the faces the hands, the head, the clothing so I like to look at all the details of the figures in the windows,” said church historian Priscilla Ege.
Clarke is considered to be among the greatest glass artists in history, but few people outside the art world know these windows exist; that’s why historians Priscilla Ege and Peter O’Brien are on a mission to get Clarke’s work the recognition they say it deserves.
Peter and Priscilla are also parishioners at St. Vincent de Paul. They say the beauty of Clarke’s work is in the details.
But there’s a darker side to this stained glass. Influenced by the Irish potato famine, Clarke’s figures are long and gaunt with somber faces; a sharp contrast to full-figured Italian renaissance art. He was also known for his illustrations for Hans Christian Andersen and Edgar Allen Poe.
“This is a very unique style that you won’t see anywhere else, post-famine artwork, so there’s is a big difference in what you see, and every inch of a window has detail in it,” O’Brien said.
Clarke’s specialty was deep jewel tones.
“He specialized in doing that and taking a blue and then making it lighter and darker and more royal so he was very unique in doing that with the colors he didn’t just stay with red and had degrees of colors for all his works,” said Ege.
Clarke’s work and legacy is a part of Irish history seen as a unique gift to the Catholics of Bayonne.
“We try to make everyone realize how important and special they really are that’s why we write books and papers and give tours and try to get the people more involved in the windows not just us,” said Ege.
“Just take it inch by inch and you’ll see incredible things,” O’Brien said.
So this St. Patrick’s Day, if you find yourself getting lost in the images within the Celtic knot frames of Harry Clarke’s stained glass windows, you might be considered lucky.
It’s been 10 years since Pope Francis was elected.
With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner we look at a church in New Jersey that’ll give you an authentic taste of the Emerald Isle.
Members of the NYPD Holy Name Society processed through the streets of the Diocese of Brooklyn yesterday.