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ACCEPT
When Patrick Keely arrived in Brooklyn in 1842 he got to work on his first Neo-Gothic architectural design, following in the footsteps of his father who built churches in Ireland.
Over the years, one stunning sacred space led to another. As they came to know his work people weren’t only impressed by Keely’s artistry, but also his faith and work ethic.
Many of his churches have withstood the test of time – his talent and his influence can be seen in buildings throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Grocery bags aren’t just handy for holding all the necessary goods, they are helping people in need fill their stomachs with a good meal in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
That’s because Food Bazaar Supermarkets and St. John’s Bread & Life in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn are teaming up a campaign called “Together, We’re Feeding Hope.”
For every bag purchased for $5 at the dozens of Food Bazaar locations in the New York City area, 100 percent of the proceeds go to Bread & Life.
The fundraiser kicked off at the beginning of March, and it’s been doing well so far.
“It’s a way to say, ‘I’m doing something positive during Lent, and I’m taking that time to think about that,'” Sister Caroline Tweedy, the executive director of St John’s Bread & Life, tells Currents News. “$5 will feed somebody for a day.”
“We did some quick math, and, we sold thousands and thousands of bags, which equates to over $50,000,” executive vice president of Food Bazaar Supermarkets, Edward Suh, explains of how the sales have done thus far.
He also says his stores pair perfectly with the Bed-Stuy food pantry’s mission.
“They provide meals and food to the people that need it the most,” he tells Currents News. “A lot of our locations, in fact, most of our locations are in areas that are a bit distressed, and we feel it’s our responsibility as a member of that particular community to give back in our own way.”
It comes at a time when families are struggling, and Bread & Life is seeing more and more people asking for help.
“It’s mostly older folks who are struggling,” Sister Tweedy observes. “They tell you they have to make a decision between rent and medical expenses, and so food is always at the end.”
Guests like Dawn Brabham are proof that the donations will go far.
The Brooklyn resident has relied on Bread and Life for two decades. The organization helps “a great deal, especially with the high prices,” she says.
The limited-edition tote will be available in stores until April 21, 2025.
From kindergarten to 8th grade, students are united in prayer in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Their main intention? The health of the Holy Father.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy has been following the updates on Pope Francis since he was admitted into Gemelli hospital on February 14.
“I just hope he recovers,” Ming Hui Lin, a 7th grader at the school, told Currents News.
Right now, the pontiff is showing signs of improvement and remaining stable.
“We really want Pope Francis to continue. He’s been a wonderful pope,” Our Lady of Perpetual Help teacher Catherine Aquilino said of the Holy Father.
The Sunset Park school is praying the rosary every Friday during Lent. While they are holding their beads, they are thinking of Pope Francis, who is thousands of miles away.
“We wanted to pray for his recovery and for the strength of the church during this time, because it’s trying all over the world, so we wanted to offer prayers,” explained Aquilino. “Perhaps saying the rosary and we would take the five decades and Fridays are the days allocated to the sorrowful mysteries. So that’s how that all came about.”
The rosaries have also offered an opportunity for students to connect with Christ.
“I think it’s been good for the little kids so that they get to know more about their faith and know more about the rosary and Mary,” 8th grader Erla Chua told Currents News.
It is a call that Chua said she doesn’t take lightly.
“The rosary is very important to me,” she explained, “and my family is very religious, and we take church and Mass and the rosary very seriously. We’ve been praying for Pope Francis, my family, for good health.”
And as the pope recovers, these students believe their prayers are being answered.
“I feel like we’re helping because when we’re praying, we’re asking God, for a blessing for another person,” Christopher Fernandez, a 7th grader at the school, said of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy’s prayer efforts.
“It is helpful,” added Lin. “It takes, a lot of stress off of someone.”
Hundreds of high school seniors from Diocese of Brooklyn schools came together for a special Mass as they continue to prepare for graduation.
Students at one Brooklyn Catholic academy are supporting Pope Francis as he recovers by gathering on Fridays during Lent to say the rosary.
New Yorkers are praying that the St. John’s University men’s basketball team goes all the way – including the school’s athletic chaplain, Fr. Richard Rock.
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — With graduation around the corner, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s high school seniors will soon embark on a new chapter of their lives. And, as they prepare for their next journey, Bishop Robert Brennan reminded them to never forget that, first and foremost, they are children of God.
“God loved you into being, knows you better than you know yourselves, and believes in you,” he said. “Please don’t forget who you are, and remember that your Catholic community supports you, and make sure to stay connected to God’s Church.”
On March 21, Bishop Brennan celebrated the second annual Graduation Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, congratulating seniors from 15 different high schools within the diocese and encouraging them to take pride in their achievements.
He also acknowledged that they deserve “a lot of credit” for how far they have come.
Many seniors at the Mass said they wish to continue their Catholic education and build on the strong foundation they have received in the diocese throughout high school.
Emma Polanco, a Christ the King High School senior, said she will “need God now more than ever” as she continues her Catholic education at St. John’s University to pursue a nursing degree.
“I know that I have struggled so much with not just academics but the social aspects of high school,” Polanco said. “And to know that I’m going into college where it’s going to be very competitive … I know I am going to need to talk to him more [and] come to church more.”
Polanco said that when growing up, although her parents raised her Catholic and gave her the free will to decide if she wished to continue practicing the faith, she never felt the need to look anywhere else.
In fact, she said her faith has only gotten stronger in high school.
“I’ve gotten so much closer with God and built such a great relationship with him,” she said. “To know that I have him with me every single second of every single day makes me happy, and to have him with me throughout college, I know that I will be able to stay motivated throughout my nursing career.”
Tatiana Elias, a Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School senior, said choosing to continue her Catholic education was an easy decision. She said she looks forward to attending St. John’s University to pursue a degree in biomedical sciences.
“I feel like being in an area where I can express my faith but also expand my education is a way to make sure that I’m heading in the right direction,” Elias said.
She noted that it also created a sense of community.
“In my high school, I feel like everyone knows my name and cares about you differently,” she said. “The way the school runs as a whole helps you expand your faith but also enriches your knowledge.”
Bishop Robert Brennan makes his way up and down the pews, thanking seniors for making time for the 2nd Annual Graduation Mass. (Photo: Alexandra Moyen)
Christopher Goldman, a St. Edmund Preparatory High School senior, said he looks forward to expressing his faith at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Goldman, who is an altar server and Eucharistic minister at his home parish, St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish in Bergen Beach said he wants “to carry my faith with me as much as I can.”
Goldman said he plans to continue his Eucharistic ministry on his school campus and looks forward to gaining a deeper understanding of the faith at a Catholic school.
“I’ll learn more about kindness and following in Jesus’ footsteps,” he said.
After Mass, Bishop Brennan said that a graduation Mass had been an idea of his since his time as auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 2012.
When he became bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, in 2019, he scheduled one for 2020, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to halt in-person Masses and graduations.
“When I finally came [to the Diocese of Brooklyn], we were able to pull it together, and it means a lot,” Bishop Brennan said. “I wish I could be at all the graduations, but I can’t, so it’s a chance for me to encourage the seniors to be together at one time, and I also think it’s good for them to see each other.”
Bishop Brennan said the diocese is “proud of them all.”
“This was a chance for me to say, ‘thank you for being the great people that you are,’ and to remind them that God believes in them, I believe in them, the Church believes in them, their families believe in them, and to never give up,” he said.
Father James Kuroly, pastor of St. Rose of Lima in Rockaway and director of the Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the diocese, said it is a special year for the seniors because of the Jubilee Year.
He said the Mass was an opportunity for them to “celebrate together as a family.”
“I think when young people come together, and they recognize that they’re not alone in this journey of faith, that they have each other as support and, most importantly, to pray for each other,” Father Kuroly said.
A Christian rehabilitation center in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn has undergone a major renovation to benefit staff and patients.
It’s business as usual at the Vatican while Pope Francis recovers at Gemelli Hospital – Currents News explains how the Holy See stays operational even when the pontiff is away.
The future is looking bright for students at a Queens Catholic academy where parents came into the classroom for Career Day.
A brand new rehabilitation gym is now available at Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center.
While the home has been around since 1903, the building in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn wasn’t opened until 2002.
The facility’s executive director, Anthony Restaino, says it’s never been updated.
“We identified that our short term rehab is needed in this neighborhood, and the rehab gym was the original one,” he tells Currents News. “The equipment was older, things were starting to look old.”
For George Jensen, chairman of the board of directors for Norwegian Christian Home, these upgrades are particularly important to him. He has been a patient there himself more times than he can count, and knows what it’s like to be there firsthand.
“I’ve had two knee replacements. I’ve had two hip replacements. I’ve had a fractured shoulder, fractured elbow, ” he explains.
Even though Jensen always got excellent care, he says the space could have been better and he’s glad to see the upgrade.
“We’ve modernized it, we have a lot more room, but it did get crowded here,” he recalls. “They had to bring patients down on a schedule so it didn’t get overcrowded. But, with this setup, it’s going to be much better.”
The center used money raised at its inaugural golf tournament to pay for the improvements.
“We focus on short term rehabilitation,” Anita Panopio, the director of rehabilitation for Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center, tells Currents News. “Patients come here for four to six weeks. It depends on their progress. She know that the renovation is important: “It’s a big impact for the residents.”
A new addition to the center are stations with real-life scenarios like doing laundry or taking a bath, to help patients as they return home.
“It really helps the residents because the goal is to get them to acclimate back to their homes,” explains Restaino.
While he’s hoping not to be back as a patient any time soon, Jensen says that if he is, he knows he’ll be in good hands.
“Every time I’ve been here for therapy, it’s done marvelous things,” he says.
A rehabilitation center in Dyker Heights Brooklyn has undergone its own rehabilitation: for years seniors have gone to Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center to get back on their feet after surgery or other issues.
While they always received exceptional care, the Brooklyn center wasn’t the best it could be.
Staff decided to change that with a major renovation.
