The strong right arm of the Catholic Church honored aborted babies following the 10:30 am Mass at American Martyrs Church in Bayside this past Sunday.
The Knights of Columbus held a prayer service for the more than 63 million babies who have been aborted in the United States since 1973.
After praying a litany for life, parishioners planted 63 crosses out on the church’s front lawn for those babies who died.
The Diocese Of Brooklyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage is more than half way through their journey.
Grabbing their passports, pilgrims headed to Our Lady Queen Of Martyrs Church in Forest Hills, Queens yesterday.
They celebrated Mass with Bishop Robert Brennan and retired Auxiliary Bishop Paul Sanchez, who is the pastor there.
The day before they were at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church in Jamaica, Queens.
Students from the Parish’s Catholic academy joined Bishop Brennan for a morning filled with song, prayer and Eucharistic Adoration.
It was just one of many spiritually filled activities that happened at the church, which held services such as rosaries, vespers, holy hours and more for more than 12 hours.
Since Ash Wednesday, pilgrims have been visiting a different parish in Brooklyn and Queens almost every day.
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — St. Francis College in Downtown Brooklyn announced it will eliminate its Division I athletics program, effective at the end of the spring 2023 semester.
In a statement posted March 20 to the St. Francis College website, Denis J. Salamone, ’75, chair of the St. Francis College Board of Trustees, said the decision — part of the college’s “SFC Forward: Strategic Vision for 2023 & Beyond” plan — is a response to the challenges facing higher education institutions, particularly smaller liberal arts colleges in the Northeast, including increased operating expenses, flattening revenue streams, and plateauing enrollment due to the pandemic.
“We want to acknowledge that SFC has a rich legacy in competitive athletics, and are proud of our Terriers today and in all years past,” the statement reads. “This difficult decision was guided by a commitment to preserving the college’s 164-year Franciscan mission to provide a high quality and affordable education to working-class and first-generation students.”
The statement said the school would honor all current academic and athletic scholarships for student-athletes, even though they will no longer be participating in sports. Employment for athletics staff and coaches will end at the conclusion of the spring semester.
The spring sports include men’s and women’s tennis, men’s track and field, men’s volleyball, and women’s water polo.
“I am heartbroken that a decision has been made to eliminate the college’s athletics program,” said St. Francis Athletic Director Irma Garcia, ’80, in a statement posted to the Terriers’ athletics social media accounts. “I want to thank every student-athlete that has donned the Terrier blue and red over the many generations that have come in Brooklyn.”
Some of the current athletes were still trying to figure out what the next step will be in their collegiate careers.
“It’s very shocking. I didn’t expect myself to be coming into this situation,” said Josiah Harris, a junior on the men’s basketball team. “But I thank [St. Francis] for the opportunity they gave me, with open arms, to come play here.”
When asked what he will do next, Harris said he is weighing his options about where he might continue playing basketball in the future.
Abby Oliphant, a sophomore on the women’s swim and dive team, expressed shock over the announcement.
“I feel like we’re all still trying to process what’s going on,” Oliphant said. “I feel like it’s a mix of so many emotions.”
“I came here to swim and get my education, and one of those has been taken away from me,” she added, “but I feel like I’m fortunate enough to know I’m going to a school that I’m happy at even if I can’t compete in my sport.”
The Terriers athletic program is made up of nine men’s and 10 women’s teams, all competing in the NCAA’s Division I Northeast Conference. The men’s basketball program was founded in 1896 — making it the oldest collegiate program in New York City.
In December 2022, St. Francis closed the doors of its 180 Remsen St. campus, including the Daniel Lynch ’38 Gymnasium, which had been the home of Terriers’ basketball and volleyball programs for 50 years. The new main campus is located at 179 Livingston St. in Downtown Brooklyn. The men’s and women’s basketball teams finished out their seasons at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, Clinton Hill. The women’s water polo team has been practicing at the College of Staten Island.
Dennis McDermott, ’74, known as “Mr. St. Francis” during his long career as the college’s alumni director, said he met the greatest people in the world through his involvement with athletics at St. Francis. McDermott left the school as the all-time high scorer in men’s basketball history, leading to his No. 22 jersey being retired.
“It is a very sad day,” McDermott told The Tablet on March 20 in the immediate aftermath of the news. “I’ve been on the phone all day with alumni and talking to different people, it’s hitting me really hard now. It’s sad to hear that it’s really happening.”
St. Francis served as a local option for student-athletes seeking to continue their sports careers at a competitive level in Division I.
“It gave people the opportunity,” McDermott said. “To see what the coaches did with the resources they had, it was unbelievable.”
Students are reacting a day after St. Francis College announced it is eliminating its entire division one athletics program at the end of the spring semester.
The Knights Of Columbus organized a prayer service for aborted babies on Sunday at American Martyrs Church in Bayside, Queens.
Bishop Robert Brennan joined the faithful at St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Jamaica on Monday for continuation of the Lenten Pilgrimage in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Pope Francis sent a statue of the sleeping St. Joseph to the Church where he received his First Communion, his Confirmation and celebrated his first Mass as a priest in Argentina. This gesture was in honor of the feast of St. Joseph.
The Pope has a special devotion to this saint. In his room, he keeps a statue of the sleeping St. Joseph, and under it, he leaves little pieces of paper with his prayer intentions. Pope Francis explained his fondness for the saint during a Mass in the Philippines.
“I have great love for Saint Joseph, because he is a man of silence and strength,” Pope Francis said on January 16, 2015 during a visit to the Philippines. “On my table I have an image of Saint Joseph sleeping. Even when he is asleep, he is taking care of the Church!”
With the statue, the Holy See sent a message signed by Pope Francis. In it, he asked his intentions to be left next to the statue. The parishioners welcomed his gift with a procession and honored his request.
The public can now attend an hour-long Eucharistic Adoration every second Tuesday of the month in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The first adoration, held on March 14, was led by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica. Prayers were offered for Pope Francis in honor of the 10th anniversary of his pontificate.
The initiative is a new addition to the pastoral outreach of the Basilica. Last fall, the Basilica released Lectio Petri, a set of meetings to reflect on various aspects of St. Peter’s life.
This series came after a video about St. Peter was projected onto the facade of the Basilica for two weeks during the month of October.
The video used images of St. Peter from the Vatican Museums and its goal was to help pilgrims and tourists alike get to know the first Pope.
People who live in East Palestine, Ohio are trying to get on with their lives after a train derailment in February up-ended their community.
Despite the EPA deeming the site clean and safe, the worst may not be over for them according to some experts.
One lawyer who’s been helping victims of 9/11 says the health of East Palestine residents is at risk.
Michael Barasch from Barasch and McGarry is worried the Ohio residents may still be in danger from the fallout of the derailment.
The instructions from her teacher are loud and clear, but Dulce Maria doesn’t understand them.
Unlike her fellow fifth grade classmates, in English, she reads at a kindergarten level.
That’s why Christine Latona and the teachers at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy in Gravesend, Brooklyn, even those who don’t have Dulce Maria in class, are rallying around her, making sure she gets all the benefits of a Catholic education.
“It’s allowing her to get the education she needs, it’s enabling her to be bilingual in a predominantly English speaking school and it’s giving her the confidence that she’ll need later on in life to say look what I was able to accomplish and learn by coming to a Catholic school,” Latona said.
She uses iReady, it’a a program used to determine students’ needs, track their progress and personalize their learning. For Dulce Maria, the school is using it in two languages.
“I like school but the problem is I still can’t speak English well. I’m trying my best because I know they’re trying to help me so I try to pay attention especially to any feedback that give me,” said Dulce Maria.
Dulce’s been at Our Lady of Grace since she arrived in New York two months ago. She came with her father from Colombia, they crossed the southern border on foot.
“In Colombia there are a lot of robberies and incidents caused by some very bad people, we were afraid to go out with jewelry or anything of value and it gave people in the city a feeling of insecurity, it’s not safe,” she said.
Stephanie Campanella is the school’s DeSales Technology Institute coach, she set Dulce Maria up on Duo Lingo, meeting her right where she is so she can learn English at her own pace.
“We want to have our doors open to anyone who comes in to have a great Catholic education and not just have a safe place but to learn and thrive in whatever environment they’re in and we work collaboratively to make sure that happens,” she said.
With support from her teachers, her new friends and Our Lady of Grace’s technology, not just progress but success is possible for Dulce Maria. It might take time, but for now – it clicks.
Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn are doing what they can to help with the migrant crisis currently ensuing in New York City.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump could be planning big protests in Manhattan after the former president said on social media that it appears he’ll be arrested on Tuesday.
The Archdiocese Of Los Angeles is honoring the late Bishop David O’Connell with his own chapel at the Cathedral of Our Lady of The Angels.
DYKER HEIGHTS — A record number of entries and the most cash prizes ever awarded converged on March 16 with the announcement of winners in the 2023 youth spring art contest co-sponsored by The Tablet.
The newspaper joined the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph and the Archbishop John Hughes Council of the Knights of Columbus to hold the contest for youth in the Diocese of Brooklyn. This year had the theme — “St. Joseph: Fatherhood.”
“By sheer numbers alone, far and wide, it’s the biggest contest we’ve had,” said Dustin Etheridge, manager of digital content and creative services for DeSales Media Group, the ministry that produces The Tablet.
The contest, which began in mid-February, was open to all school students in the diocese from first through 12th grades. Judges had 827 submissions to evaluate and were categorized into two groups: first through eighth grades and high school.
Father Christopher Heanue, the rector of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, conceived the idea to host the art contest while the church is preparing for an installation of a statue honoring its namesake. He added that the artwork might help inform the final product of the sculpture.
“I was so excited to try to release some ideas for the co-cathedral in terms of trying to use the creative talent of our students from our Catholic schools,” Father Heanue said during the awards ceremony at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Dyker Heights.
Etheridge said the contest had first, second, and third-place winners in both categories. The students at the ceremony knew they’d placed in the competition. However, they only knew which prizes they won when announced.
The top three winners in each category received, respectively, $500, $300, and $100. Additionally, the Knights of Columbus gave $500 to the school with the most entries — Our Lady of Mercy, Forest Hills.
“I’m just super honored,” exclaimed Eleni Kougiemitros, a 10th grader from St. Francis Prep, who won first place in the high school division. “It’s so crazy that I won!”
Madison Summerville, an eighth grader from St. Sebastian Catholic Academy, won second place in the first- to eighth-grade category.
“I had only one day to complete that,” she said. “And it took me 4-5 hours to do.”
Leah Struss, a second grader from Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy, was the youngest winner with third place in the grade-school category.
“I just really thank my parents for supporting me because if nobody supported me, I wouldn’t feel like I was good enough,” she said.
Etheridge said the cash prizes no doubt fueled the massive participation, but the contest was well-publicized, and believes the contest theme also had a unique draw.
“I think that the Fatherhood of St. Joseph — St. Joseph, as the earthly father of Jesus — is something that any child can relate to,” Etheridge said.
The winners are:
FIRST-EIGHTH GRADE CATEGORY
1st place: $500
Mikaela Pereira, 6th grade
St. Joseph Academy, Astoria
2nd place: $300
Madison Summerville, 8th grade
St. Sebastian Catholic Academy, Woodside
3rd place: $100
Leah Struss, 2nd grade
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy, Forest Hills
Honorable Mention: $50
Ella Mangels, 4th grade
St. Bernadette Catholic Academy, Dyker Heights
HIGH SCHOOL CATEGORY
1st place: $500
Eleni Kougiemitros, 10th grade
St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows
2nd place: $300
Seunghwa Woo, 12th grade
St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows
3rd place: $100
Sze Yu Queemy Yiu, 11th grade
Christ the King, Middle Village
SCHOOL WITH THE MOST ENTRIES
$500 from the Knights of Columbus
Our Lady of Mercy, Forest Hills