Cause for Pierre Toussaint’s Canonization Energized on the 168th Anniversary of His Death

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.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday, 6/30/21

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.

A Rare and Beautiful Sight: Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio Dedicates Diocese of Brooklyn’s New Church

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.”

Florida Condo Survivors Recall The Tragic Moment Building Collapsed: ‘God Help’

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.

Father Christopher Heanue Leaves his First Parish at Holy Child Jesus

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.

How The Little Sisters of The Poor Fought For Religious Liberty In the Supreme Court And Won

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.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday, 6/29/21

Dedicating the newest church in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

The desperate search for survivors in Florida as community members demand to know why the building collapsed.

New York City releases the results of ranked-choice voting but we still may not have a winner for weeks.

Saying goodbye — what it’s like for priests to leave their home churches for new ones.

Makeshift Memorial Near Collapsed Condo Tower Is Reflection of Humanity

By Tom Tracy and Currents News Staff

SURFSIDE, Fla. (CNS) — There are pictures of children’s faces, retired couples at elegant dinners, a father and son moment, a young married couple, crosses, candles and handwritten prayers on yellow Post-it notes and drugstore greeting cards.

Surfside’s informal Wall of Remembrance memorial sprung up following the tragic partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building near Miami Beach. It has been so popular since it appeared late last week that the local law enforcement had to close the area due to hundreds gathering on the streets there.

“God is ‘El Roi,’ the God Who Sees — Help the First Responders find their bodies,” reads on note, using a reference to one of God’s names found in the Book of Genesis.

Another note, posted beneath a photo of a Hispanic father and son, reads: “Be with their family, Lord. Let them know they are not alone, Jesus. We are praying.”

The area was devoid of visitors the afternoon of June 26, and Tina Paul, vice mayor of the town of Sunrise, Florida, came to take pictures of the wall and pay respects to several of the missing persons she said she knows personally.

“It is my second visit; last night we visited the (ground zero) site with our building officials and structural engineers, and on our way home we saw the site — it was just being set up and I wanted to come back and see it again,” Paul said. “I really look at everybody.”

“It has grown a lot since last night, and I just feel so bad,” she told the Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Miami Archdiocese. “My friend is right up there,” she said, pointing to a picture of a missing couple Miriam and Arnie Notkin.

Some of the missing Catholic families and parishioners of St. Joseph Church, a short walk away, are represented as well, including Juan Mora Jr., seen wearing a tuxedo, possibly at a friend’s wedding celebration. His parents, Juan and Ana Mora, also are officially missing. The family belongs to St. Joseph Parish.

After spending time at the Surfside family reunification center, a kind of gathering place for briefings from civic authorities and the coordination of volunteer activities, a visiting clergyman and a National Guard-trained crisis responder in terrorism and disaster response from Tampa, Florida, tried, but failed, to come see the remembrance wall firsthand.

Pastor Moses Brown, a senior chaplain and evangelical minister at Advent Health in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, and a native of Broward County said he met with some of the family members waiting for the daily updates.

“There are not many words to say in something this catastrophic but ‘God be with you,’” Brown said.

“I went down to the Haiti earthquake, and that was something to see — the reliance of those people. Some things you can’t be trained on but being there trains me. Haiti showed me that it could happen,” he said.

“Sometimes these things are unbelievable until you see it yourself. All of us living in high rises are thinking, ‘Could it be me?’” Brown said.

He said he was encouraged that St. Joseph Church is part of the Surfside community; he said he was directed there by a police officer in Surfside who said it was a place to come pray.

“That means it’s relevant in this community — I found the church by talking to a police officer who is sending people over there, so I said to myself, that must be a church that is really doing something.”

The pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Father Juan Sosa, and a group of parish clergy and parishioners concluded an evening prayer vigil and eucharistic adoration June 26 by walking several blocks over to the wall of remembrance.

But they were, like others had been, informed the area was not open due to public safety concerns. Still, they were close enough to see the ground zero site and so illuminated their cellphone lights, sang a few hymns and prayed for a few minutes before leaving.

Tracy writes for the Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Miami.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday, 6/28/21

The death toll rises from a condo complex collapse – one Catholic church in the area has ten families missing in the rubble.

For the second time in two months a tourist is hit by gunfire in the middle of Times Square – police will flood the area to keep people safe.

Religious Freedom Week sets its sights on Christians in Iraq – we speak with groups working to free them from religious persecution.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has a lengthy meeting with Pope Francis.

Aid to the Church in Need Highlights Persecution of Iraqi Christians During Religious Freedom Week

By Jessica Easthope

Around the globe, hundreds of millions of Christians live in places where persecution is considered extreme, where believing in Christ is dangerous – and few are more hostile than Iraq.

“The Christians have been in Iraq since the apostles and Christians in Iraq have suffered greatly in the last 20th century and it’s shown by the number of people who have left,” said Ed Clancy, the director of outreach for the papal organization, Aid to the Church in Need.

At the turn of century, Christians made up nearly 13 percent of the population in Iraq at more than one million. Today, they’re under one percent with only about 270,000 left.

Aid to the Church in Need says the United States’ influence in Iraq caused a major shift.

“The situation in Iraq was not good under Saddam Hussein but the Christian population was surviving, since then it’s been decimated and that’s because of the instability and the problems,” said Clancy.

Christians and church leaders in Iraq were hopeful after Pope Francis’ historic visit to the country in March, but Clancy says government control of economic and employment opportunities keep Christians down.

“As their numbers decrease they lose a certain ability to support themselves and they become more and more reliant on the government to support them and the government is not,” he said.

Aid to the Church in Need has rebuilt thousands of Christian homes destroyed during the ISIS genocide which ended in 2017, but terrorism and extremists are still the biggest threat to Iraqi Christians. Clancy says people can still return, but that first requires helping the Christians currently in Iraq stay there.

“A dedicated few can have an effect, the importance ideally is we have to support those dedicated few, to make sure they’re protected, represented and that we as a country speak up for them and we as Christians and Catholics do the same,” said Clancy.

If the threats Iraqi Christians face persist more will leave and language, liturgy and history will be lost.