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Catholic News Headlines for Thursday 3/12/26   

The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage reached its halfway point in Queens at St. John Vianney Church as the annual tradition draws fresh energy and deep participation.
Pope Leo XIV meets with the only Iranian cardinal, the archbishop of Tehran, at the Vatican.
The pastor of Mary of Nazareth Parish in Fort Greene, Father Henry Torres, has a one-on-one encounter with the Holy Father.
Students at Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy in Queens are enjoying a newly renovated library.

Priest From the Diocese of Brooklyn Meets Pope Leo XIV

By Currents News

A Brooklyn priest and his mother shared a brief but joyful moment with Pope Leo XIV following the pontiff’s general audience on March 11.

Father Henry Torres of Mary of Nazareth parish in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, along with his mother, shook hands with the pope.

The encounter included shared laughter and the exchange of gifts. Father Torres presented Pope Leo XIV with a book highlighting how immigrants have shaped the Diocese of Brooklyn.

He also gave the pontiff a candle, which the pope said he would light while praying for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

TONIGHT AT 7: Queens Catholic Academy Prepares to Give Library a New Look

By Katie Vasquez

In the Diocese of Brooklyn, students at  Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy are going on adventures without leaving their seats.

It’s thanks to a new library at the Queens school, which honors a woman who valued Catholic education for her children. Now her son is helping continue that legacy. 

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 3/11/26

Small class sizes in the Diocese of Brooklyn are helping students succeed as New York City pushes for smaller public school classrooms.

Students at Bay Ridge Catholic Academy brought Greek mythology to life through costumes, artwork and presentations.

More than 9,000 nuns around the world joined in silent prayer for peace in the Middle East.

Pope Leo XIV’s childhood church in Illinois has been added to a preservation list as efforts continue to save the historic site.

Greek Legends, Mythology Come to Life in Brooklyn at Bay Ridge Catholic Academy

By Katie Vasquez

Legends came to life at Bay Ridge Catholic Academy.

Fifth graders at the Brooklyn Catholic school created elaborate drawings inspired by ancient Greece, and even got into character.

“I’m dressed up as Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. She likes plants and to harvest things, and you know I like nature,” said fifth grader Lia Cafiero.

“I’m dressed up as Atalanta, who is a huntress and is really fast,”  explained fellow fifth grader Alessia Scheidler. “So she has these gold wristbands and this long dress because that’s what they wore in her age.”

The academy’s gym was set up like an exposition hall with the students’ projects on display. Students were able to demonstrate what they had learned in class over the past few months.

“We learned that Apollo was the god of the sun,” fifth grader Joseph Patrick Baez told Currents News. “And also we learned a funny thing that Phaethon, the son of Apollo, caused total catastrophe when he rode his father’s chariot throughout the sky.”

“I wrote the summary, and we just decided today that they would be acting it out,” explained fifth grader Miriam Dodds, “because we thought it would intrigue people who are coming.”

Other grades and parents, like Christina Cafiero, were invited to learn more about Greek mythology.

“I think it’s also great. Instead of just sitting at a desk all the time learning, they were up and doing things,” Cafiero told Currents News. “They were on the phone chatting about what they’re going to do, planning their costumes and planning their boards together.”

Fifth grade teacher Patrick Hunter said he hoped the project would help the lessons sink in by turning students into educators for the day.

“It gives them the opportunity to think deeply about a specific myth, use different ways of understanding, like drawing and looking at pictures,” Hunter said. “And that storytelling is a really important way of engaging the mind.”

The expo wrapped up the students’ lesson on mythology, and each student will be graded for their work.

Small Classes, Big Wins: Diocese of Brooklyn Success Shows Path for NYC Public Schools

By Jessica Easthope

Fourth-grader Soyela Morisseau walks taller through the halls of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy. She recently participated in a school-wide speech competition, where her piece on Rosa Parks earned her first place in her grade. It’s quite the accomplishment, considering a year ago Soyela spoke not a word of English.

“I didn’t know I was going to win,” Morisseau said. “I said, oh my God, I won and my teacher said, ‘you are acting so crazy right now.'”

Morisseau arrived from Haiti with her family in November 2024. A new country and a new school wasn’t exactly easy.

“I didn’t talk in class because I didn’t know the language,” she said. “And I was so confused what people are saying.”

But in a class of 12, Soyela caught up.

“My teacher doesn’t have a lot of people to deal with in the class,” Morisseau said. “So I can talk with her to learn English.”\\

Diocese of Brooklyn schools class sizes average just under 17 students, with most ranging from 12 to 24. While New York City public school averages continue to drop after a 2022 law mandates annual reductions, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration is looking to keep classes small in all corners of the country’s largest school system. To pull it off he needs ten thousand additional teachers, 700 million dollars in additional funding according to the city’s Independent Budget Office and years.

“I provided the teachers with materials, dictionaries that had Creole and English,” said Principal Lorraine Pierre. “And the teachers paired up with other kids who could speak Creole. So that’s more or less what we tried to do as much as possible to make sure that she understood what was going on.”

After 28 years as a public school teacher, Pierre says New York City can take a page out of the Diocese of Brooklyn’s book.

“A class more than 25,” Pierre said. “Then you’re losing kids by the buckets because it’s hard to identify those who need the additional help, or even those who are excelling and need to be pushed.”

And Morisseau is proof of what a small class can do for a student.

“Nobody didn’t leave me out of everything that they did,” she said.

“We need to not let any child slip through the cracks,” Pierre said. “We can’t afford to do that.”

New York City’s future goal of reducing class sizes is already a reality here—and it’s helping students like Morisseau dream big.

TONIGHT AT 7: Brooklyn Catholic School Shows the Impact of Smaller Class Sizes

By Jessica Easthope

As New York City considers a major public school overhaul centered on smaller class sizes, one Catholic academy in Brooklyn is already seeing what that can mean for students. A fourth grader’s rapid progress is offering a powerful example of how individualized attention can make a difference.

Faithful Intelligence: Catechumen Brainstorms AI for Service Ahead of Baptism

By Jessica Easthope

Sander Cheung’s mind races. His ideas need to come fast, because AI technology is faster.

Cheung would know. He’s been engineering AI for decades, long before it was a hot topic.

“I was all into math and science and engineering,” he said. “Back then there was not a popular term for AI.”

When he moves back to Tokyo in the spring, Cheung will step into the chief operating officer role of an organization using AI-powered robots to build houses. But he has something important to do in New York first — get baptized Catholic.

“He has all the answers,” Cheung said. “It’s almost as if I’m reading the science of the faith because it’s so logical.”

An accomplished skier, Cheung was seriously injured in an accident on the slopes two years ago and has been rehabilitating ever since. One day while walking down Queens Boulevard, he passed Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Forest Hills — and his life changed forever.

“I heard the church bell ring. I just had this imagination there’s a fatherly figure standing there. I went up there and I got really emotional and I said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.’ And I imagined that he gave me a hug. It really changed my life that day.”

Cheung, who is Chinese but has lived much of his life in Japan, said he became caught up in the social demands of one of the most secular countries in the world. According to Pew Research, about 50% of people in Japan report having no religion.

“In secular society like what I experienced in Japan, a lot of people, they are not happy because your life revolves around work. I just thought the only way to do that — to be touched by Christianity,” Cheung said.

Now at 55, Cheung is preparing to receive the sacraments. And he is not leaving AI behind — he is bringing it with him.He hopes the AI homes his organization is building could one day help solve the homelessness crisis.

“When I go back to Tokyo — I want to be a soldier for Christ,” he said.

Cheung said he now believes AI and religion do not have to compete — they can collaborate. And there is nothing artificial about that.