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St. Francis Xavier Church Unveils Inclusive Icons and Portraits of BIPOC Saints and Religious Leaders

Currents News Staff and John Lavenburg

LOWER MANHATTAN — Ahead of the Sunday, June 12, 11:30 a.m. Mass at The Church of St. Francis Xavier, Ann Harris Jacobs spent time appreciating the 12 newly unveiled portraits of diverse saints and holy people that lined the church walls, and the newfound sense of welcoming that came with them.

“It means a lot to me and other people of color to see ourselves as a part of our church,” Jacobs said. “It says we welcome everyone of all backgrounds. The community now will probably be very different in its awareness of the universal Church.”

The church’s parish council conceptualized the idea to incorporate the portraits into the parish in 2020 as a way to diversify the church’s iconography to better reflect and welcome the current parishioners that fill the pews every week.

The Church of St. Francis Xavier was built in the 19th century. Therefore the existing iconography reflects the Irish, German and Italian members of the congregation at that time.

Ten of the 12 portraits are mounted at eye level in the marble sections between the Stations of Cross that are painted onto the side walls of the church along the pews. The other two portraits are mounted on similar marble sections at the church entrance.

Depicted in the portraits are St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Anrê Dũng-Lac, St. Óscar Romero, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, St. Lorenzo Ruiz, St. Rose de Lima, St. Charles Lwanga, Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, Blessed Rano Maria Vattalil, St. Andrew Kim Tae-Gǒn, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, and the Venerable Pierre Toussaint.

Queens artist Patricia Brintle painted the portraits. After the Sunday morning Mass, she was brought to tears reflecting on these past few months away from them, and the significance they now have gone from her studio and inside a place of worship.

“I really did a lot of research on each saint so praying to them was praying to somebody that I knew, and as the months happened I knew them more and more, and so when it was done and I finished it was like sending my kid to college,” Brintle said.

“And then when I came here it’s like meeting them all over again but all grown up,” she continued. “They’re the same but they have a weight that they did not have before. Now they are able to make miracles for people.”

The portraits are painted on wood. Brintle began the two-year process by sketching the holy people one by one with a pencil on drawing paper. Then she moved on to colorized life-sized versions on foam board. Then for the final step painted them simultaneously on the wood “for the sake of uniformity,” which is evidenced in the subtle design similarities between each one.

Brintle credits her Catholic faith with guiding her through the project. She said she prayed a similar prayer at the start of each session. In the case of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in particular, it wasn’t until Brintle prayed directly to the American Indian saint with an American Indian prayer that she got the features just right.

“It was God working. I was just an instrument,” Brintle said.

The portraits were blessed after Communion at each of The Church of St. Francis Xavier weekend Masses. Afterward,  the parish incorporated each of the holy people into a litany of saints, where each name was said followed by the words “pray for us.”

Father Ricardo da Silva, the celebrant of the Sunday morning Mass, also incorporated the 12 holy people into his homily, saying, “their examples of virtue and courage should not be forgotten.

“May we, inspired by their example, respond in a unity of love and peace as the worldwide Catholic Church, as the community of The Church of St. Francis Xavier, as families of differing configurations, and as distinct individual persons called to make God real in the world,” he said.

There was a reception after the Mass for parishioners to meet Brintle. The Tablet spoke with her there, as parishioners continuously chimed into the conversation with words of appreciation and awe over how the project came out. She even walked two Filipino parishioners through her process of settling on a younger look for St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the patron saint of Migrants, the Philippines, and the Filipino people.

“It’s very, very humbling,” Brintle said of those moments.

Phil Gutierrez, a parishioner and member of the church’s art committee, said at the reception that he also walked through the church that morning and spent time with each portrait. He called the experience moving, and noted that the location of the portraits between the Stations of the Cross, among the congregation, “models this walking the walk of Jesus that is really inspirational.”

“To experience all of the portraits of these holy people surrounding the congregation gave me the experience that I was hoping for, that these holy people are surrounding us, they are among us, they are praying with us and for us,” Gutierrez said.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday, 06/13/22

Governor Kathy Hochul is taking steps to protect abortion rights in New York state by signing a package of bills today.

It seems more likely than ever that Roe v. Wade will be overturned following a leak of a draft opinion last month.

Pope Francis will not preside over the Corpus Christi Mass or procession this week.

Couponing Gains Popularity With Consumers Amid High Inflation

Currents News Staff

Meet Darrina Carter: mother of four, law enforcement spouse, regular person. That is – until she spots a deal.

“Got my coupon right here. So I’m gonna get two of these,” said Darrina. “So for the two toothpastes I paid $4.58, right here. And then when I paid for it, I end up getting $4.00 of points back. So with the $4 of points, I decided to get Friday night dinner for the kids. These were buy one get one free. ”

Things have changed. How to create an extreme couponer in 2022? Take one mom and add inflation.

“I can tell by having the same budget that I had before all of this, I would get less,” Darrina said. “It seems like the bags were getting smaller and smaller every time. Milk has gone up tremendously. Just because I’m the sole person who does all the grocery shopping, I can tell.”

The economy is changing the way some people think about money.

“I wouldn’t stop,” Darrina said. “Just seeing, this is proof that you don’t know what’s going to happen, you don’t know what’s coming up.”

New York Gov. Hochul Signs Bills to Protect Abortion Rights

Currents News Staff and Melissa Enaje

PROSPECT HEIGHTS – In response to the upcoming ruling, which may affect the status of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law new measures that would elevate the state into an abortion safe haven for locals and out-of-state abortion seekers.

“Make no mistake, this is not just an attack on reproductive health and freedom,” Gov. Hochul said during a June 13 press conference, “it’s an attack on the very values that make New York what it is. And that’s why with a stroke of a pen, I will say: Not here. Not in New York. Not Ever.”

The New York State Catholic Conference called the governor’s new abortion-related measures, including the task force that will be “created to study the impact” of pro-life pregnancy centers, harassment.

“This package of bills seeks to encourage abortion tourism,” the Catholic Conference said in a statement, “rather than helping women and children who may be in need. New York should stop presenting abortion as the best and only option for struggling women and harassing any pro-life pregnancy center that may help women keep their babies.”

The signing comes after both houses of legislature passed bills strengthening not only the right to abortion care in the state, but transgender care for patients.

The six bills passed by the legislature include:

  • Protecting medical professionals from misconduct charges for providing legal abortions
  • Preventing extradition of defendant in abortion related cases if they’re charged in another state
  • Protected the address information of employees and volunteers working with abortion providers.
  • Creating a task force to study the impact of “limited-service pregnancy centers.”

In May, Hochul and state Democrats doubled down their efforts on abortion rights after the controversial leak of a document from the Supreme Court on the Roe v. Wade decision. Hochul pledged that the state would invest $35 million to support abortion providers across New York while New York Attorney General Letitia James pushed for $50 million for a Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program, a total of $85 million, both to be funded through state health department grants.

“The women of New York will never be subjugated to government mandated pregnancies,” Gov. Hochul said, “because that’s what will ensue if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court.”

The New York Bishops have pledged that “regardless of what the Court decides” they are taking on a “renewed pastoral effort” for expectant women facing unplanned pregnancies as well as those in need of services to carry their baby to term.

They launched a new pregnancy resources page, Help for Moms, where women can find services available to them. They’re also calling on Catholics and elected officials to work towards a New York that is more supportive of women in crisis pregnancies.

“Any woman — regardless of age, religious belief or affiliation, marital status or immigration status — who is pregnant and in need, can come to the Catholic Church and we will give you the services and supports you need to carry your baby to term, regardless of your ability to pay,” bishops said in the statement.

Furthermore, we will not abandon you and your baby after delivery, but, rather, we will see to it that you have the resources that you and your child both need and deserve. No one will be turned away from life-affirming care. If you have had an abortion that you regret, whether recently or in the distant past, please come to us as well, so that we may offer you services to help you to heal.”

New Gun Control Plan in the Senate May Face a Tough Road Ahead

Currents News Staff

Senators who support the new bipartisan framework for gun safety legislation say they’re hopeful a bill created from it could pass. It addresses issues like mental health, school safety, and illegal gun purchases.

Ten Republican senators say they support it  – and that’s enough to override a filibuster.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is complimenting the negotiators. but, the gun control framework isn’t a bill yet. Delaware Senator Chris Coons helped negotiate the plan. He says language around gun shows might need extra attention, as well as straw purchases. Those are when a person illegally buys a firearm for someone else.

“There are provisions that will be tricky,” said Sen. Coons. “I am cautiously optimistic that we can get this passed out of the Senate in about the next two weeks before early July.”

Now, some gun control advocates are expressing cautious optimism.

“This is substantially more than we’ve seen in decades from Congress,” said Parkland Shooting Survivor David Hogg. “Is this everything I want? Definitely not, but it is something.”

Thousands Protest Around the Country in the Face of Another Weekend of Gun Violence

It was another weekend of gun violence in America with multiple deadly shootings across the country.

The continued violence only serves to strengthen the plea of protesters, who marched for change in hundreds of cities across the country.

In Chicago at least 21 people were shot, seven of them killed.

In neighboring Indiana, a mass shooting at a nightclub in Gary left two dead and four injured over the weekend.

In Denver, police are searching for someone who shot six people, two fatally, at a house party early Sunday morning.

And in Kentucky, five teenagers were shot Saturday night near a pedestrian bridge in Louisville next to waterfront park.

There have been 266 mass shootings just this year, according to the gun violence archive.

Thousands took to the streets nationwide for the March for Our Lives rallies protesting gun violence.

Catholic News Headlines for Friday, 6/10/22

The Diocese of Brooklyn welcomed three new priests after Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated his first ordination Mass in the diocese.

Pope Francis postpones a trip to Africa — because of health reasons.

The Supreme Court —  edging closer to a decision over whether to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Students are dancing at a Catholic Academy in Queens —  all to help a fellow classmate.

Senate Bill to Expand SCOTUS Security Protection Stalls in House

Currents News Staff

Police are searching the home of a California man charged with attempted murder after he told police he wanted to kill a Supreme Court Justice and then kill himself, he said, to give his life purpose.

He told authorities he was upset over the leak of a draft ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the possibility that the court could loosen gun laws.

Authorities say 26-year-old Nicholas Roske went to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home with a gun, zip ties and other tools, but after seeing two Deputy Marshals outside, he called 911 on himself.

Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Justice Department will not tolerate this behavior.

“Threats of violence and actual violence against the justices of course strike at the heart of our democracy,” said AG Garland.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin says Congress is now ready to approve a bill extending security to the immediate family members of justices.

“What happened this week with Justice Kavanaugh is a reminder that we live in a dangerous place,” said Durbin, “and these people are vulnerable and we should protect them.”

Republicans are blasting the delay. House Democrats want to expand the Senate bill to cover clerks and staff too. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promises action soon.

“We had hoped that we could do it today,” said Pelosi, “but we will certainly do it next week.”

This all comes as the Jan.6 hearings began Thursday and Washington gears up for a potentially volatile June. That’s when major Supreme Court decisions, large-scale protests, and more tours at the Capitol will converge in an already heightened threat environment.

Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger is ramping up security, while DC Police are activating their riot cops throughout the month. A major concern: the pending abortion ruling. Intelligence analysts warn of potential threats toward lawmakers, Supreme Court Justices, abortion providers, and religious groups. The threats are coming from both sides of the abortion debate.

“I am worried about the violence,” said Manger. “I’m worried about the lone actor coming in and doing something dangerous.”

Protests related to abortion and gun laws could bring thousands of people to Washington. Sources say capitol police are now adding overtime shifts.

“The focus is really on the protests that are going on the court,” said Manger. “The protests that are going on at the homes of the Justices. I understand that the tension could very quickly turn to, you know, to the Capitol.”

These Two Irish Men Are Rowing a Boat Across the Atlantic Ocean

Currents News Staff

It’s a story that might make you say “Yeah Right” because no one is rowing across the ocean! But it’s true!

Two men from Ireland are planning to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. They’re starting in NewYork on the Hudson River and heading back home to Galway.

Before they embark on their journey, Damian Browne and Fergus Farrell joined Currents News to talk about their trek and why they’re raising money along the way.

They’re accepting donations that will go to four different charities. You can find out more and make a donation by heading to their website: projectempower.ie – just click on “donate” when you get there.