By Currents News
Easter joy was in full swing at St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy in Ozone Park, where Pre-K students took part in a fun indoor egg hunt.
The children searched, counted, and sorted colorful eggs — all while learning about a tradition that dates back to early Christianity, symbolizing Christ’s resurrection.
By Currents News
Students at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy in Belle Harbor brought the story of Holy Week to life through a moving Passion play.
From Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, seventh graders reenacted the key moments of Christ’s journey.
By Currents News
Flashback to 1951 — when New York City’s skyline became a powerful display of faith. Buildings across the city lit up with crosses for Good Friday, a moment captured on the front page of The Tablet.
By Katie Vasquez and Jessica Meditz
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — For many participating in the Way of the Cross over the Brooklyn Bridge on Good Friday, the procession wasn’t simply a tradition — it meant taking steps toward Christ.
“It’s important for me to participate because I can take what I believe, turn it into reality, and live it. To take this abstract claim about what Good Friday is and turn it into something tangible,” said Nicholas Arcati, a Staten Island resident and member of Communion and Liberation, the Catholic lay movement that has organized the procession since 1996. “This is what we live for.”
Hundreds of Catholics and Greek Orthodox Christians came together at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James on April 3 to begin the pilgrimage into Lower Manhattan with the first Station of the Cross.
Bishop Robert Brennan, who was there to greet them with Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York, reflected on the significance of this time of year.
“It is a time of tremendous grace,” Bishop Brennan said. “We are living in a world that’s longing for peace, longing for unity, and for us Christians, it’s what you remember when our Holy Father keeps telling us, in the one Christ, we are all one when we’re looking for all of those other things.”
For Archbishop Hicks, the experience was his first as archbishop of New York.
“This is my first time [to Brooklyn], and to do so in the spirit of unity and of prayer and togetherness, it’s the perfect setting,” Archbishop Hicks said. “We are reminded that we not only walk with each other … but Jesus is walking with us.”
Archbishop Hicks said a record number of people are joining the Catholic Church this year, adding that it’s much like the bystanders on the bridge that joined the procession.
“We want to see an increase in that,” he said. “Jesus is the way to truth in life and salvation.”
Tian Wu is among those preparing to enter the Church this year, set to be baptized during the Easter Vigil in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Walking the Way of the Cross helped her better understand the meaning of Christ’s death and the new life she will soon enter.
“I’ve participated in Easter Mass before, but I didn’t fully understand what was happening,” she said. “This year, I was introduced to the true meaning — the resurrection of Jesus and new life. It’s a very nice feeling.”
For Jenna Abazia, the public witness of faith on Good Friday is part of a much deeper return to Christ. After years away from the Church and struggling with addiction, she said she turned back to God at her lowest point and found a sense of peace she hadn’t known before.
“I realized he was always there,” she said. “It was me that was turning my back.”
Now an usher at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James and preparing to become a lector, Abazia said she feels called to live her faith openly to inspire others.
“People need to know that we haven’t forgotten what Jesus has done for us,” she said. “Sometimes, someone else’s testimony can be the thing that helps another person come back.”
Bishop Brennan gave three more Gospel reflections during the pilgrimage, which continued through Lower Manhattan and ended at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.
After being welcomed by Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia, national chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Bishop Brennan thanked all in attendance for their public display of faith.
“Your witness to the people of New York on both sides of the river is a powerful sign of your faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,” he said. “For 30 years, this [procession] has given us the privilege to walk with Christ in a tangible and palpable way.”
Good Friday observances continued in the Diocese of Brooklyn with the Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James.
In New York City, Bishop Robert Brennan, Archbishop Ronald Hicks, and Catholics from the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Archdiocese of New York marked Good Friday with a Way of the Cross Procession across the Brooklyn Bridge.
At the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Mass of the Lord’s Supper as pontiff and washed the feet of 12 Roman priests at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Catholic academies in Brooklyn and Queens solemnly reflected on the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday and preparing for the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
By Katie Vasquez
Faithful from the Diocese of Brooklyn are participating in a Via Crucis in New York City.
In a solemn and prayerful procession, they are carrying a cross through the city’s streets and reflecting on how Christ’s crucifixion was a sacrifice freeing humanity from sin.
By Jessica Easthope
In the basement of Our Lady of Fatima Church in East Elmhurst, Queens, 14-year-old Gianlucas Goncalves Cunha doesn’t break character. His conviction comes from within. He’ll need it to play Jesus in the church’s Via Crucis — a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross.
“I accepted the role. I’m really excited for the production. I hope it goes really well. And I’m just really glad about it,” Goncalves Cunha said.
Despite having the lead role, Goncalves Cunha is missing something.
“My faith journey is a little bit complicated,” he said. “So when I started taking my faith seriously, I was like, I need to go to church because it’s really important. Before that, I hadn’t gone to church since I was in the Dominican Republic.”
He’s waiting to receive First Communion and Confirmation — sacraments he didn’t realize he needed until he watched “The Passion of the Christ” last Easter.
“Even though it wasn’t close to the pain that he really felt, it did something to me,” he said. “It made me emotional and it made me take it way more seriously.”
A freshman in high school, Goncalves Cunha is growing up in the age of social media. He admits that before he began the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, or OCIA, he strayed from the faith he was baptized into. But he knew enough to find out the truth for himself.
“So there’s this dude on social media, he says all these things like Catholics worship Mary, which is stereotypical and isn’t true at all,” Goncalves Cunha said. “We venerate Mary. We give her something called hyperdulia, which is a Greek term for the highest level of veneration. Social media can either break your faith or it can help you. So you have a platform where you can search for the truth and find what you should believe in.”
Gianlucas still has one year of OCIA until he can receive his sacraments at next year’s Easter Vigil — but his passion hasn’t wavered.
“I’m really looking forward to actually take the Eucharist, which is the literal body and blood of Christ,” he said. “And maybe even bring new people to Catholicism so that they can know who created them and who will save them. And that’s Jesus. And I’m really excited for that.”
By Currents News
Bay Ridge Catholic Academy brought together faith, family, art and science for a fun-filled Family STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Night.
The Brooklyn school offered students and parents hands-on activities exploring the structure, behaviors and habitats of animals.
Participants used Legos, robotics, Play-Doh, popsicle sticks and even M&Ms to engage in creative experiments.
Organizers described the evening as an enjoyable way for children and adults of all ages to learn about God’s creations through interactive discovery.
Archbishop Ronald Hicks is marking his first Holy Thursday in the Archdiocese of New York by giving back to those in need at a food distribution site in Washington Heights.
Pope Leo XIV joined together with hundreds of priests and bishops at St. Peter’s Basilica, celebrating his first chrism Mass as the Bishop of Rome.
Bishop Robert Brennan will be celebrating the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Brooklyn.
In Queens, one 14-year-old is preparing to fully enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil next year. It’s a moment he’ll be reflecting on as he plays Jesus in his church’s reenactment of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday.
By Katie Vasquez and Bill Miller
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Elizabeth Graham of Manhattan stood in line for two and a half hours on April 2, bundled up against chilling winds, to receive what she called “a blessing.”
Graham was among an estimated 450 families receiving fresh protein, fruits, and vegetables at the annual Holy Thursday Food Distribution conducted by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.
Newly installed Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York blessed food items and the families that would receive them. He then got in line and helped hand out packets of frozen salmon.
“It’s important for us to come out to get something to eat,” Graham said. “It’s a blessing. Thank God.”
The distribution was conducted in partnership with Goya Foods outside Catholic Charities’ Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center on Audubon Avenue between 165th and 166th Streets.
Thermometer readings hovered in the mid-40s, but powerful wind gusts made the temperature feel colder, according to weather reports.
Still, Archbishop Hicks and the food recipients cheerily exchanged greetings in the food distribution line, unfazed by the chill.
Moments later, the new archbishop explained to The Tablet and Currents News that, on Holy Thursday, Jesus “gives us the Eucharist, the most powerful gift that we have.”
“This is what nourishes us,” he continued. “But he also gives us, on this day, the washing of the feet. So, our prayer is connected to serving others. If we are people of goodwill, then I think we have an obligation to respond, and it’s beautiful to see it happening right here and right now.
“This is faith put into action.”
The event’s distribution tables were heaped with frozen poultry and fish, bananas, oranges, and other fruits, vegetables, eggs, and packages of Goya Foods products.
“This is the most amazing event,” said Nicholas Ryan, a recipient. “It’s Catholic Charities giving you the fresh, not old things, but super fresh — amazing oranges and apples, and good young chicken.”
Each year, the various programs of Catholic Charities serve about 400,000 New Yorkers, including more than 10 million meals at soup kitchens, community pantries, pop-up pantries, and home-delivered meals to elderly or disabled people, according to the organization.
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It helps anyone in need, and with no restrictions on religion of choice, immigration status, or national origin.
Goya Foods partnered with Catholic Charities’ Feeding Our Neighbors program to provide 300,000 pounds of food this year, said Maricela Baez, a spokesperson for the Jersey City-based company.
“This year is especially meaningful for us as we celebrate 90 years of Goya Foods,” Baez said. “Our legacy is built, not just on providing quality products, but on giving back to the communities that have supported us for four generations.”
She added that Goya has donated more than 1.8 million pounds of food to Catholic Charities over the past few years and donated 1 million pounds of food nationwide on March 31, billed as “Goya Gives Day.”
Also, during the event, Archbishop Hicks told Currents News and The Tablet that he was excited to visit Brooklyn on Friday to participate in the Way of the Cross procession over the Brooklyn Bridge.
The annual Good Friday event, led by Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn, begins at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn. It proceeds across the bridge to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Lower Manhattan. Stations of the Cross are highlighted along the way.
“It’s significant that we cross bridges,” Archbishop Hicks said.
“I think,” he continued, “that’s the message of Jesus. He teaches us how to form bridges and how to unite. It’s going to be my first visit to the Brooklyn diocese, and I cannot wait.”