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Christian J. Santo Foundation Gives Away Full Tuition Scholarships in Honor of Xaverian Graduate

By Jessica Easthope

Christian Santo is hard to forget. His parents Karen and Bill couldn’t be more proud of him.

“Christian was just one of these people that just wanted to help everyone,” Karen said. “He put himself last all the time.”

When he wasn’t giving haircuts to children with autism, playing baseball or spending time with family, the 27-year-old Xaverian H.S. graduate was finding a way to help someone else.

“I learned more about my son Christian when he passed away than I knew of him when he was alive,” Bill said. “He was all heart, my son.”

On Sept.17, Bill’s birthday last year, when he hadn’t heard from his son, he and Karen drove to his Bay Ridge apartment just a few blocks from their family home. Christian had died of heart failure and in a flash – everything he was became a memory.

“I have no regrets, we had a good life with him,” Karen added. “I cry because I miss him but I really feel he’s in a better place.”

Determined to keep that memory alive, the Santo’s acted fast, raising money for academic and baseball scholarships in Christian’s name at his alma mater St. Thomas Aquinas College and creating a sandbox memorial.

“It’s really a reflection, because that’s what my son would want for you,” Karen said of the small, peaceful space on Shore Road.

Christian’s passing has taught the Santo’s what it really means to have faith.

“When I go, I’m going to see my son because I miss him terribly and that’s where my faith comes in,” Bill said. “I truly believe I will see my son again.”

As the first anniversary of Christian’s passing approaches, the Santo’s are getting ready to give away two full tuition scholarships and they’ll continue to help anyone and everyone in Christian’s name, because that’s what he would have done.

Recent Queens College Graduate Launches Scholarship to Help Pregnant or Parenting Students

By Currents News Staff

Malika Pegues has a lot of goals, like finishing college and becoming a neuropsychologist. These are goals she’s working towards, all while raising three girls.

“Being a mom while in school, I’m not going to lie, it is very, very complicated,” Malika said, “but it’s very much possible, if you have the right support.”

She has new support from Josephine Rose who founded the Kathleen Mullally Foundation. Named after Josephine’s late aunt, it provides college scholarships to pregnant or parenting students.

Supporting parents is something that’s very important to Josephine. The Catholic is a pro-life advocate and was part of the Queens College chapter of Students for Life of America.

“It’s on us, as Christians and members of the human family, to support that and to make sure that yes you can follow your dream and have a family,” Josephine explained.

The foundation is new, but Josephine has already raised almost $15,000 dollars. Malika got the first $1,000 scholarship.

Of the decision, Josephine said, “She made it so easy to choose her.”

Malika is a Christian, a mother of three, and a veteran. During the pandemic, she moved her family into a domestic abuse survivor shelter.

She’s been through so much but her grades never suffered, her smile never faltered and she still takes the time to helps other. She’s a counselor at New Horizon Counseling Center with NYC Project Hope.

The money she received from the scholarship was given to her during a ceremony at Queens pregnancy support center, the Bridge to Life.

“I am a one income household,” Josephine explained. “I don’t really get any support with raising my daughters, so it really did help me with bill payment.”

Right now, the scholarship is for Queens College students but soon Josephine hopes to take it state-wide and even national.

Currents News Update for Wednesday, 8/18/21

U.S. bishops are urging our government to speed up the relocation process, as thousands of Afghans and foreigners scramble to flee Afghanistan, four days after the Taliban took control of its capital.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday it’ll offer free COVID booster shots for all Americans 18 and older.

Another statue of a saint has been vandalized in the Diocese of Brooklyn – this one was dedicated to the victims of COVID-19.

Latest Act of Vandalism in Diocese of Brooklyn: Broken Statue at St. Michael’s Church in Flushing

By Jessica Easthope

Praying in front of their parish, St. Michael’s Church in Flushing, Queens, is the highlight of Lucy Santiago and Lillian Soto’s day. They usually leave happy, but Wednesday, that wasn’t the case.

In the early morning hours, Tuesday, Aug. 17, a man hopped a short fence in front of the church and pushed over this statue of St. Bernadette, breaking her arm.

“They have no business trying to destroy these statues because they’re the ones who support us, these saints in heaven and that’s what we have to depend on now,” Lucy said.

The vandal was caught on camera.  The police were called to investigate and tape was put up – a process Father Vincentius Do shuddered to think he’d ever be involved in.

“It’s sad that we have to think of more security. We never thought about these things when we built these churches, everything was out in the open but now we have to protect ourselves,” said Father Do, the new parish administrator.

St. Michael’s joins a long list of churches and schools across the Diocese of Brooklyn that have been vandalized this year. At this spot, St. Bernadette is kneeling in front of the Blessed Mother and surrounding them is a white flag for every parishioner lost to COVID-19.

St. Bernadette is the patron saint of those who are ridiculed for their faith, but the parish doesn’t think this is an attack, but a problem that goes much deeper within the Flushing community.

“I tend to think these people are suffering with some kind of mental issues and that’s why I ask my parishioners to pray for them that they get help because I think they do need help,” said Father Do.

Now St. Michael’s is left to, literally, pick up the pieces. Fr. Do hopes his parishioners will chip in to fix the statue, but he says the pain costs more than the repairs.

Ten Sisters of St. Elizabeth Who Were Martyred in Poland During WWII Are Now Being Beatified

By Jessica Easthope

It’s a recognition they weren’t given in their lifetime. Ten nuns are now Blesseds, martyrs, killed by Soviet soldiers in Poland during the last months of World War II.

“The Soviets were brutal, in many ways more brutal than the Nazis and it’s a great gift for the church to have the witness of these women finally recognized,” said Msgr. Thomas Machalski, the pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Bayside, Queens.

This summer, the group of Sisters of St. Elizabeth were cleared for beatification. Msgr. Machalski said the women showed immense bravery: they died protecting each other and children as they faced rape and brutal torture.

“It shows the depth of their faith that there was nothing that was going to shake their faith in the Lord that even if it meant their life they were not going to give up or give in,” he said.

There aren’t many pictures of the women because sadly their story isn’t uncommon. In 1945 as the Nazi party was moving out, the Soviet army was moving in and more than 100 nuns were killed by Soviet soldiers. Msgr. Machalski says a Communist regime was part of everyday life when he lived in Poland, more than 40 years later.

“It was very difficult in many ways to be a religious be it a priest or a consecrated religious in Poland,” he said. “The authorities made it very difficult for you.”

But the sisters’ courage and faith can still resonate among Catholics today.

“Ask for their intercession, we never know when God’s going to use through their intercession that occasion to work a miracle in somebody’s life,” Msgr. Machalski said.

Like a miracle, a true test of bravery can happen when you least expect it.

Currents News Update for Tuesday, 8/17/21

While many usual places of refuge in Haiti were destroyed during Saturday’s earthquake, an organization in Queens is ready to help.

In Afghanistan, just a day after deadly chaos at the Kabul airport, Catholic Refugee agencies are calling on the British government to provide safe passage for asylum seekers from the U.K.

Ten Polish nuns are on the road to sainthood 76 years after they were killed by Soviet troops in the final months of World War II.

Get ready to roll your sleeves up again, this time for a COVID booster shot.

After Devastating Earthquake, U.S. Church and Pope Francis Offer Prayers for Haiti

Currents News Staff

At the end of his Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis prayed for the people of Haiti.

“While I lift up my prayer to the lord for the victims, I extend my word of encouragement to the survivors, hoping that the interest of the international community to help might move toward them,” the pontiff said.

The earthquake’s center was about 80 miles west of the country’s capital of Port-Au-Prince and was stronger than the 7.0 magnitude quake that devastated Haiti in 2010.

Workers are sifting through the rubble of collapsed buildings and homes.

Severe weather is likely to impact those recovery efforts.  Forecasters expect some areas of Haiti to get as much as 15 inches of rain through Tuesday.

CNN spoke with Father Louis Merosne, pastor of St. Anne’s Cathedral in Anse-à-Veau, as he was driving around his community offering food and help. 

He says many churches have been damaged or destroyed.

“Even though we have such destruction here in my parish–– we’re lucky in comparison to some of the parishes in my diocese where both the church and the rectory have completely collapsed,” Father Merosne said. 

Expressing heartfelt prayers for the people of Haiti, U.S. bishops released a statement.

“In these moments of continued trial, may you feel the comfort, compassion, and embrace of our Blessed Mother. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti, intercede for us!”

Currents News Update for Monday, 8/16/21

A storm is barreling toward Haiti as the Caribbean nation tries to recover from Saturday’s devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

The Diocese of Brooklyn is home to many Haitian-Americans, some who still have family there. St. Jerome’s Church in Brooklyn is holding a vigil this afternoon.

Chaos in Afghanistan as thousands try to get out of the country. Video at Kabul airport shows people chasing an airplane as it gets ready to take off. The Taliban is now in charge after seizing control of the capital.

Priest in Haiti Concerned ‘Dangerous’ Earthquake Aftershock Will Destroy His Church

Currents News Staff

This weekend’s devastating earthquake rocked Haiti and killed roughly 1,300 people and injured thousands more. Many Catholic churches and clergy were also affected.

Father Louis Merosne, the pastor of St. Anne Cathedral, spoke to Currents News about the damage done to his parish and what kind of help his community will need going forward.