A Catholic high school in the Diocese of Brooklyn will soon open its doors to younger students.
Today is the anniversary of Pope Francis’s election.
We’ll highlight one of the stops pilgrims will make on the way to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage this summer.
With Easter just over two weeks away, we’ll take a look at a timely new children’s book on store shelves now.
By Katie Vasquez
It’s a sight that has graced Grand Army Plaza for years, dozens of Catholics taking to the streets of Prospect Heights to proclaim their faith during the Palm Sunday procession.
It’s become a staple for the Diocese of Brooklyn,and a symbol of the sacrifice yet to come.
“You know, the lord paid the ultimate price to conquer sin and death for us. He paid the ultimate price to set us free. so going and processing through the streets is what we can do, unafraid and unashamed of our witness of what the lord has done for us”, said Father Henry Torres, pastor of Mary of Nazareth Church.
Ahead of the march, Father Torres took us through the procession’s route, the faithful will travel down Vanderbilt avenue and end at the Co-Cathedral of St Joseph.
For the first time, NET-TV’s live coverage will include a host, Father Torres, to guide viewers through the feast day.
“As every year progresses, we like to think of new ways and innovative ways as to how we can bring the church and the faith closer to the viewers at home. Father Henry Torres was a great choice because he’s very charismatic and he’s able to like, you know, have people feel the true the true word,” said DeSales Media Group Production producer, Marilyn Arreaga.
Palm Sunday reenacts Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem more than 2,000 years, the service includes a blessing of palms like the ones used to greet Jesus.
“So the palms represent eternal life, represent royalty, represent triumph. So when Jesus enters Jerusalem on the donkey, he’s entering triumphant. This is the triumphant entrance of Christ,” said Father Torres.
Father Torres believes having the procession televised will be a bridge to guide those who have moved away from their faith.
“For people that are maybe going into despair, probably feel that, you know, there’s a lack of faith because of everything that’s going on. the chaos that we have been experiencing. If anything, this can also allow people to breathe, to realize that although we may we may be living in a chaotic world, whether in our personal life, in society, in our culture, that the lord has conquered,” said Father Torres.
And help Catholics as they prepare for the bigger celebration, Christ’s death and resurrection during Easter.
Dozens of Catholics will take to the streets of Brooklyn to share their faith for the big procession which will start at Grand Army Plaza on Palm Sunday.
Haiti’s prime minister has resigned after weeks of chaos in the country… where gangs have taken over.
Bishop Robert Brennan spent time with the NYPD Brooklyn and Queens Holy Name Society on Sunday.
We’ll introduce you to a nun in Minnesota, who doesn’t just use her hands for praying.
By Jessica Easthope
Outside of St. Boniface Oratory Church in downtown Brooklyn, a sign asks, ‘Is Catholicism right for you?’
It’s a question Laura Asserfea has been asking herself her whole life.
Answering yes or no would mean sacrificing something, but through months of Order of Christian Initiation of Adults or OCIA, Laura realized that ‘something’ was peace.
“I think it’s given me a way to sort of find peace when there are challenges,” Asserfea said. “I like to pause and reflect; it’s given me more connection, humanity, and just feeling more giving toward my fellow man.”
Asserfea, raised by a single mom in Queens, went to church often. Her mom was a Eucharistic minister, but receiving her sacraments wasn’t a priority.
“She never really forced it on me,” Asserfea said. “When we would get sick, she would bring out the Bible; she taught me the saying I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Now an attorney with a degree from Columbia Law School, when Laura got to college at NYU, she met Dave Solimano, who would become a spiritual guide on her faith journey. Although Solimano was raised Catholic, he was also exploring his commitment in college, when most stray from their faith.
“I continued to educate myself during my high school years, and in college, I really became serious about it,” Solimano said.
Solimano was diving deeper into a relationship with Christ.
“When I was confirmed, one of the things they made us promise was that we would continue our faith formation,” Solimano said. And I guess I kind of thought to myself, well, I promised this to God. I should probably do something about that.”
“He was tutoring me in calculus, and here’s this person who I think is so smart but was also so devoted, and it solidified that I wanted something more in life, that connection,” Solimano added.
Now, Laura is just weeks away from receiving her sacraments and becoming Catholic.
“I think it’s always going to be like a homecoming,” Asserfea said. “I’ve been going to church as a child; during college, I found my way back toward it, and now I’m finally home again.”
She’s still learning but has confidently explored this question, and her answer is yes.
NET TV will show all the Holy Week and Easter services, including one of the dozens of Easter Vigil Masses at which catechumens like Asserfea will be baptized.
Haiti is descending into lawlessness. Gangs are taking control, launching attacks against the government, while the country’s prime minister remains stranded abroad.
But the ones paying the price for this violence are Haiti’s children.
According to UNICEF, hundreds of thousands of children and families live in some of the most dangerous and besieged communities.
Malnutrition is at a record high across the country, with roughly two in three children needing humanitarian aid.
While the Church has been trying to help their flock in Haiti, many of the religious there admit they are also scared of this chaos.
Archbishop Max Leroy Mesidor of Port-au-Prince tells the papal charity Aid to the Church in Need, “Everyone is afraid, including the religious. As soon as you leave Port-au-Prince, you are in danger. The gangs even come into the churches to kidnap the people there.”
Catholics are there for them in these dark times.
Churches around the Diocese of Brooklyn are being encouraged to pray for Haitian Bishop Pierre-Andre Dumas, who was seriously injured due to gang violence, and all of Haiti this weekend.
Next Monday, March 18, the Diocese of Brooklyn will also dedicate their Lenten pilgrimage stop to praying for the country.
Just go to Holy Innocents Church, that’s at 279 East 17th Street in Brooklyn.
Prayer opportunities will be offered throughout the day, but Bishop Robert Brennan will celebrate the closing Mass at 7:30 PM.
The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is just a couple of months away, and while dozens are expected to take part in some of that journey, two dozen have pledged to walk the whole way.
The 24 young Catholics will trek from four different starting points all across the country, eventually meeting in Indianapolis for the Eucharistic Congress this July.
They are split into groups of six and will walk more than 6,500 miles.
More than half of the perpetual pilgrims are undergraduate or graduate students, and they will be accompanied by a rotating group of 30 Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.
To learn more about the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage as well as the Congress and the campaign as a whole, just go to eucharisticrevival.org.
The Lenten season is a time of prayer and fasting, but for hundreds of people across Brooklyn and Queens, it’s also a time for studying.
Pope Francis is receiving some backlash from Ukrainian authorities and allies after a recent interview.
Pope Francis is praying for Haiti as the country continues to descend into lawlessness as gangs are running the capital.
We’ll learn more about the four routes in which teams will carry the Eucharist to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress this summer.
Many immigrant communities were represented at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Ridgewood during the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage stop on Friday, March. 8.
The kids from the parish’s school, Notre Dame Catholic Academy, lead the pilgrims in prayer, reciting the Rosary in English, Spanish, Italian, and Polish.
It came right after the students and pilgrims joined Bishop Brennan for Mass.
To see all the stops the pilgrims will make, just download the Lenten Pilgrimage app.
All you have to do is search “Lenten Pilgrimage” on the app or Google Play Store.
If you can’t be there in person, the app helps you there too; you can join the prayer community there right from the palm of your hand.
Advocates are pressuring the city to close Rikers island, accusing mayor Eric Adams of taking too long to get it done.
Dozens rallied in front of City Hall Friday, March 8, right before the City Council’s criminal justice preliminary budget hearing.
They called for the mayor to deliver a budget that closes Rikers by moving the resources from the Department of Correction to crucial community needs.
The city plans to close Rikers by 2027, but officials say that is most likely not going to happen due to resistance from Mayor Adams and the slow progress in building the smaller borough facilities meant to replace it.
By Jessica Easthope
Celebrating their mark in history is exactly what women are doing this International Women’s Day, by coming here to the movies to see Cabrini.
One after another, women, from all walks of life, showing their support for someone who came long before them and paved the way.
“Back when she came here to the U.S., women were not given a voice; she was a voice.”
“She’s focusing on equality, being together, loving each other, that’s what it’s all about, that’s what drove me here. I believe there will be something instilled in me.”
“Today’s International Women’s Day, and Francesca Cabrini is definitely an inspiration, and we are here to find out what her story is.”
Here at Regal Cinemas in Sheepshead Bay, Joanne Croke, a parishioner at St. Francis de Sales in Belle Harbor, says there was no way she was missing the first show of the day.
“It is World Women’s Day, and so I thought it was a very appropriate thing to do because I’m all about strong women.”
Cabrini chronicles the life of Francis Xavier Cabrini, an Italian nun navigating the harsh realities of New York City as she fights for the poor and marginalized.
Women say the March 8th release couldn’t have been more fitting to watch the story of someone who spoke out at a time when women were voiceless.
“She was a feisty lady; she wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and she wanted to get the help she needed for her orphans and the people who needed her care, so she’s a woman really to be honored and respected.”
“She was a very strong lady; she never gave up.”
“I can certainly say I’m very proud to be a woman and an Italian American; everyone should see this woman. It makes you very proud to be here and fight for what you believe in.”
Mother Cabrini arrived in New York City in 1889.
During the course of her life, she helped found 67 institutions of care for the poor, immigrants, and sick.
“Don’t give in; figure it out, regroup and think of her, think of Mother Cabrini, and you’ll get it done.”
“She taught some of my relatives catechism, and she did everything she wanted. She didn’t let anyone stop her because she knew she was doing the right thing. It’s a women’s movie, and it’s a family movie; it was beautiful from beginning to end.”
If you don’t trust these reviews, you can come see for yourself. Cabrini is in theaters nationwide.
Someone who has already seen the Cabrini movie is Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan.
He got a special preview of the film and said the woman playing Mother Cabrini captures a whole new side of the saint.
Bishop Brennan is actually seeing the movie again and is encouraging others to see it.
This isn’t the first time the Diocese of Brooklyn has spread the word about the saint.
If you go to Battery Park, for example, you’ll find a bronze statue of Mother Cabrini there that was the result of a big campaign of the diocese.
It all started in 2019 when the city snubbed Mother Cabrini from an initiative honoring women with statues around the city, despite the fact that the saint got the most votes in a public poll.
Catholics rallied to right the wrong, leading to the state finally forming a commission for the statue that included Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio.
It was finally unveiled in October of 2020.
But the diocese didn’t stop there.
In 2021, a statue of Mother Cabrini was unveiled outside of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and St. Stephen Parish in Carroll Gardens, the very parish where she worked with immigrants in Brooklyn.
The statue took 60 artists and five months to create and includes a variety of hidden symbols, like a piece of luggage to honor her work with immigrants.
If you want to see the story of Mother Cabrini, just go to the studio’s website, angel.com.
If you click on new releases, you’ll be able to find theaters playing it, showtimes, and even pay it forward.
You can buy tickets for those who can’t afford it so that they can claim it at the theater.