Reviving hope for peace in Lebanon. Pope Francis meets with Christian leaders from the country.
President Biden visits the site of the deadly building collapse in Surfside, Florida pledging help for the region — this as the House passes the president’s $715 billion dollar infrastructure bill.
Bringing new life to a historic space — an exclusive look into a Brooklyn opera hall meant to evangelize through the arts.
By Emily Drooby
A hidden piece of history in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was built in 1897. It’s one of the first opera houses in Brooklyn.
Soon people will fill these seats again as the Diocese of Brooklyn has restored this theater to its former glory.
Currents News was given an exclusive tour.
“It’s the original floor,” said Craig Tubiolo, “and that’s the selling point to a lot of people, that the history is still here.”
From the letters above the stage to the intricate carvings that surround the ceiling, historic details were still preserved. Such integrity brought the opera house back to its former glory. The process took five years to complete.
It’s part of a restoration project spearheaded by Msgr. Anthony Hernandez and supported by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.
“We made the decision to use this as an anchor for the Catholic community in Williamsburg,” Msgr. Hernandez said.
Now, the opera house will not only be an anchor for the Catholic community, but also a tool as part of what will be a new cultural center for the diocese.
“Through the arts, we can evangelize to the local neighborhood,” said Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, who is the board chairman of the Emmaus Center.
The intention? To spread God’s word through the arts, in one of the city’s most creative neighborhoods – Williamsburg.
A community where art is more than a hobby or job, it’s a way of life.
Craig Tubiolo is the executive director.
“We’re going to reach people, where they are, and plant that seed and reignite the faith in this community in Williamsburg,” Craig said.
The center is located above the newly-dedicated Saints Peter and Paul church. The thought behind it is to evangelize the people of Williamsburg through something they hold dear.
“We’ll use the theater, the concerts, the arts, to draw people into the building and hopefully start a conversation about the faith as well,” said Msgr. Hernandez.
A unique approach catered to the neighborhood.
Msgr. Jamie says it couldn’t have happened without Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.
“From the day he came to this diocese, he was always big on the new evangelization,” he said. “When he heard about the concept here, he was all for it and he put everything behind it.”
They plan to start holding events at The Emmaus center in fall of this year.
By Emily Drooby
While standing in Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn Heights, Father Dominique Hanna prays for his former home – Lebanon. The country is in crisis.
On July 1, Pope Francis met with Lebanese Christian leaders at the Vatican. The visit and prayers was one that inspired hope.
“It makes me feel like the pope cares a lot for Lebanon and he cares for the Christians of Lebanon,” Father Hanna explained.
Lebanon is going through a severe economic crisis that started in 2019. The turmoil has worried many with loved ones who still live in the country.
“Now it’s a freefall economically,” explained Rabih Nemr, a parishioner from Our Lady of Lebanon in Brooklyn. “Apparently it’s the worst crisis. They’re saying since the 1800’s.”
Inflation is through the roof following government corruption since the end of the civil war in the country.
“If you have a family of four, a year ago, making $100 a month in Lebanon, they’re making $10 a month today, and that’s not because they’re not working, it’s because of the tragic decisions of the government, or lack of government,” explained Bishop Gregory Mansour.
Bishop Mansour is the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn. The bishop just got back from a trip to Lebanon where he saw the crisis first-hand. Other events have only made the situation worse, like the pandemic and the 2020 massive explosion in Beirut that killed 190 people, left 300,000 more homeless and caused billions in damage.
A country that needs support is what makes this summit so powerful to Lebanese people around the world including in Brooklyn.
In Rome, it was a day of prayer, reflection, and discussions. Pope Francis met behind closed doors with the leaders who represented various denominations and churches.
Together they discussed the crisis and how religion can help. Providing help is crucial, says the bishop.
“If we lose the special nature of Lebanon, the Christian, Muslim conviviality, we can forget about Christians in the Middle East,” Bishop Mansour explained.
The day concluded as Pope Francis and the 10 leaders gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica to pray for Lebanon. In the holy basilica is where the pontiff urged the leaders of Lebanon to put aside partisan interests and work for stability and peace.
Currents News Staff
The closest Catholic Church to the scene of the Florida condo collapse is St. Joseph’s parish in Miami. Currents News reported that 10 families from the church are among those missing.
Father Juan Sosa, pastor at St. Joseph’s in Miami, joined Currents News to discuss how the parishioners at his parish are coping after such devastating news and how they are all keeping the faith.
By Jessica Easthope
He was a former slave, a Haitian immigrant and a hairdresser, but considered himself first and foremost a Catholic.
“Pierre Toussaint said none of those labels matter, what matters is that every person is created in the image and likeness of God and we are called to see Jesus Christ in every person,” said Father Brian Graebe, the pastor of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan.
June 30 marks 168 years since Toussaint’s death, but the impact he made on New York City and church history is still relevant in his journey to sainthood.
“An example of immigrants and what an immigrant can do to build up the kingdom of God,” said Father Alonzo Cox.
Pierre Toussaint was born into slavery in Haiti and later was taken to New York City by his owners in 1787. While still enslaved he began working and earning money as a hairdresser.
“He became one of the most sought after hairdressers in New York City, all the society women would seek out his services,” Father Graebe said.
“In those days French women had very extravagant hairdos so Pierre excelled in this trade and rapidly obtained a large clientele,” said retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq.
With his money, Toussaint opened orphanages, schools and employment offices and instead of buying his own freedom – he purchased it for others.
“He got the freedom for many, many other men and women,” said Father Rony Mendes the head of the Brooklyn Chapter of the Cause for Pierre Toussaint.
“He just wasn’t worried about his own self, worried about his family, about others,” said Father Cox.
Toussaint was the main financial contributor in building the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. He was buried there until 1991 when he was transferred to the new St. Patrick’s. He’s the only lay person ever buried beneath the main altar.
He was venerated by Saint John Paul II in 1997, if canonized Toussaint will become the first Haitian saint.
“We encourage everybody to pray and ask God for miracles in honor of Pierre Toussaint,” said Father Mendes.
For Catholics living in New York City, Pierre Toussaint brings the worlds of faith and history together.
A vital step in evangelization in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Chaos in New York City’s race for mayor. Officials botch the vote count and spread doubt about the Big Apple’s new “ranked-choice voting system.”
We talk to one of the candidates who wants to be on the GOP ticket in the race for New York governor — Andrew Guiliani.
The frantic search continues for more than 140 people still missing in the Florida condo collapse.
By Emily Drooby and Bill Miller
WILLIAMSBURG — Members of Saints Peter and Paul Parish on Tuesday, June 29, packed their new 550-seat church in a historic building to witness the consecration of its altar by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.
It was the first dedication of a new church in the Diocese of Brooklyn since 2008.
The joyous event included Mass and the blessing of the new arts center, also housed in the building, which was built in 1897. Called the Emmaus Center, it retains an upstairs 600-seat theater that will now become a new performing arts center of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Bishop DiMarzio said the new church is intended to be a new beacon in the neighborhood, drawing people who seek God.
He commended the congregation for enduring the five years since the diocese shuttered the former church building a few blocks away and then leased the property to help finance the renovation of the building at Berry and 3rd Streets.
“This would not have happened had we not leased the land under the old church and the parking space,” the bishop said in his homily. “But look at what we have in exchange — something much more beautiful than we ever had.”
Now, pieces of the old parish building were carefully woven into the new church, including icons and its original crucifix, refurbished.
A Perfect Time
Mass was said in English and Spanish because many of the parishioners are immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico who settled with their U.S.-born families in low-income areas of Williamsburg.
Included was Felix Genao, a longtime parishioner, who expressed his joy moments before the Mass.
“A beautiful church,” he exclaimed. “We were happy before, but very happy now. Now many people will come.”
A few aisles closer to the altar, Genao’s niece, Marisela Raez, marveled at how the renovated building could allow doubling the size of the parish. She first brought her two sons to the parish nearly 30 years ago.
Raez said that the night before the dedication, she could not sleep.
“I’m so excited, I don’t even know how to put it into words,” she said. “But I think this came to be open at a perfect time with all that has been happening, and with COVID.”
A New Chapter of Outreach
In 1844, an Irish priest, Father Sylvester Malone, planned the parish’s first church building on Wythe Avenue. Completed in 1847, Saints Peter and Paul Parish’s new church was the third in Kings County, according to parish history records. Meanwhile, the diocese acquired the building, known as the Henry McCaddin Hall, and used part of it as a school until 2002.
By the late 1950s, the old church needed renovations, but a fire sealed its fate, and the parish demolished it. A few years later the congregation was worshiping in a provisional church on South Second Street.
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Octavio Cisneros attended Tuesday’s dedication and shared a special recollection of his best friend, Msgr. Augustin Ruiz, who was the parish’s pastor in the early 1970s.
Bishop Cisneros, a native of Cuba, said he had just been ordained, and Father Ruiz of Spain — not yet a monsignor — befriended him. He said he loved to visit Williamsburg, but sometimes it was scary; more than once he had to dodge bullets as gang members shot at on each other.
Still, he said, Msgr. Ruiz and priests from nearby parishes became “giants” for social justice in the neighborhood, often partnering with Jewish clergy to help the poor.
“This was a very poor area,” Bishop Cisneros recalled. “There was a lot of struggle, with a lot of pain and suffering, but they did a lot for the community.”
In 2007, Saints Peter and Paul Parish merged with Epiphany Church. But within a decade, the parish still struggled to be self-sufficient. The diocese, at the recommendation of Msgr. Anthony Hernandez, then the parish administrator, devised a plan to move the congregation to the old McCaddin Hall, but also renovate the building as an arts center for the diocese.
Msgr. Hernandez attended the Mass Tuesday, seated next to the parish’s current administrator, Father Jason Espinal.
“Today is a very important day for Saints Peter and Paul Epiphany Parish and the Diocese of Brooklyn,” Msgr. Hernandez said. “With the inauguration of this new church and center, this parish, which has existed since before the Civil War, will begin a new chapter of outreach and evangelization to the people of Williamsburg, as well as to the people of Brooklyn and Queens.”
‘I Am Counting On You’
Father Espinal explained that because the building “was never a worship site” it had to be officially dedicated as a new church, with the consecration of a new altar.
The last time a new church was opened in the Diocese of Brooklyn was in 2008 at Our Lady of Snows in the Floral Park section of Queens, Father Espinal said. According to information from the diocese, the last church renovated and re-dedicated was in 2014 — the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights.
Bishop DiMarzio performed the consecration rituals, oil of chrism on its walls, and on the altar, just like the altars of sacrifice were in the days of the Old Testament. Also blessed were the pulpit, the tabernacle, and the baptistry. Next, incense was shared at the altar and down the aisles.
Bishop DiMarzio said that Father Espinal has a big job, but parishioners can help.
“I am counting on you to pray for him and with him for the success of this place,” he said.
“There is so much evangelization to take place here, so many new people, so many strangers, so many people who do not have any roots or home,” he added. “We reach out to others who need us: those who are already Catholics; those other Christians; those who know not the faith and need to encounter Jesus Christ.
“You are His disciples. Do your best and God will do the rest.”
By Currents News Staff
Another day of digging and another day clinging to hope. The search for survivors continues in Surfside, Florida this morning after part of a condo collapsed last week.
“I thought I was in a nightmare,” said Sharon Schechter, a condo collapse survivor.
For many, it was … and still is after part of a condo building in Florida crashed to the ground.
“It was just devastating,” Sharon said. “Absolutely devastating.”
As for Sara Nir, another condo collapse survivor, she had strong words.
“And I said, ‘God help, God help,” Sara said.
For Iliana Monteagudo, she had these words: “I’m very lucky.”
Three women and three survivors – their homes turned to rubble, replaced with terrifying memories.
“A big boom and I was running to see where the sound come from,” Sara said.
“I thought a thunderstorm was coming that night,” Sharon continued.
“Sounds,” Iliana said. “Strange sounds. Strange. And I run to my living room.”
It was around 1:30 in the morning when it happened.
“Something inside of me said, run, because this building will collapse,” Iliana added.
“I hear a noise outside in my hallway and I see a family and they said, ‘come with me now, the building is collapsing,’” Sharon said, “and I also look straight ahead to an apartment. I knew the couple well, and I see a door open and I don’t see an apartment.”
Sara warned her children about what was going to happen.
“I saw all the garage collapse and I told my kids, run as fast as you can!”
Iliana said it happened so fast.
“Three seconds separate. Life to death. Three seconds,” Iliana said.
Sara said it was traumatizing.
“It’s painful and scary because I see what really, really happened,” she said.
Sharon added, “and as soon as you saw someone you knew, you just hugged and said, ‘you survived.'”
But the likelihood of finding more survivors diminishes by the minute.
By Jessica Easthope
It’s hard to leave home, but moving on from the comfort and the familiar to start a new chapter is part of life. For priests, home is their first parish.
For Father Christopher Heanue, he’s experiencing that bittersweet goodbye at Holy Child Jesus-St. Benedict Joseph Labre Parish in Richmond Hill. He’s hoping he made a mark over the last six years.
“The boy scouts say when you leave, leave it the way you found it, but for priests we hope to leave things better than when we found them and most importantly have people become holier,” Father Heanue said. “That’s really the gift we hope to give.”
After building relationships in Queens, Father Heanue will be joining a new community as the rector-pastor of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights.
“The connections that a priest should be making are connections that help not just the priest but help the people to grow,” he said, “and I find the people here to be so loving and generous. It’s been an awesome six years.”
But parting ways is tough for parishioners too. That’s because they bond with their priest and sometimes even become friends.
“I fell in love with the Jesus in him,” said Marine Rodriguez “We love him. We have to share him. He’s too good for us to keep to ourselves.”
“He really reflects Christ to us but he does challenge us to look deeper and I have,” said Lou Gazzale.
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros has known Father Heanue since he was a kid. Their relationship has grown over the years and now he says it’s time for Father Heanue, and other priests who may be feeling the same way, to grow in their ministry.
“We are all one family working together,” said Bishop Cisneros. “We move from one place to another just like any family at home, because of work, because of other pursuits, but we’re always together.”
Now the next challenge awaits. Like all priests leaving their first parish, Father Heanue can’t take the church or the people when he goes. But the connections, the lessons and the faith will stay with him.
Currents News Staff
The Little Sisters of the Poor brought their religious freedom fight to the highest court in the land – The Supreme Court of the United States. The High Court sided with them in their case against the HHS mandate that would have required them to provide contraception to their workers.
Sister Constance Veit, Director of Communications for the Little Sisters of the Poor, joined Currents News to discuss the ruling and what it meant for religious organizations that serve vulnerable populations around the country.