By Currents News
In honor of Holy Week, Currents News is taking a look at Palm Sunday processions around the world. They are a vibrant displays of faith through villages and cities, often accompanied by palm fronds, olive branches, singing and prayers.
By Currents News and Paula Katinas
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — In a tradition that is a familiar part of Holy Week, hundreds of Diocese of Brooklyn priests will gather with Bishop Robert Brennan at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights for the annual Chrism Mass on April 15.
During the Mass, scheduled for 4 p.m., Bishop Brennan will consecrate the chrism oil and bless the other sacred oils that are used in diocesan churches throughout the year for baptisms, confirmations, anointing of the sick, and other sacraments.
Bishop Brennan will breathe into the vessel holding the chrism oil — an action meant to remind all of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Following the Mass, the oils will be distributed to church pastors to take back to their home parishes to use throughout the year.
The priests will also renew their vow of obedience to Bishop Brennan during the Mass. Priests originally take that vow when they are ordained and renew it every year.
Auxiliary bishops, deacons, women and men religious, and laypeople affiliated with the diocese are also expected to attend the Mass.
In addition to the consecration and blessing of the oils, the Mass is notable for another reason. In previous years, Bishop Brennan has used it as an occasion to deliver a special message to his priests — inspiring words they can carry with them throughout the year.
In his 2024 homily, he sounded a note of unity and brotherhood.
“The oils that we bless this evening mark our unity with one another, our unity with Christ himself, and our unity in His mission,” Bishop Brennan said.
By Cindy Wooden and Currents News
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis is going without supplemental oxygen for longer periods and is continuing therapy to recover his voice and to recover his physical strength, the Vatican press office said, but he also is increasing the number of private meetings he is holding with the heads of Vatican offices.
Briefing reporters April 15, Tuesday of Holy Week, the most liturgically significant and busy week of the year, the Vatican press office did not say if Pope Francis would attend any of the liturgies, but it announced the names of the cardinals delegated by the pope to preside over the chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion April 18 and the Way of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum that night.
RELATED: ‘Pope of Surprises’ Puts in Unscripted Appearance at Palm Sunday Mass
The pope asked Italian Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, retired president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, to lead the morning chrism Mass April 17. While the parish of St. Peter’s Basilica has its own Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the pope usually celebrates the evening Mass with the foot-washing rite “privately” at a prison or detention facility; the press office said it had no information about what the pope would do this year.
Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, was chosen by the pope to lead the Good Friday liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican’s long custom is that the preacher of the papal household, now Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini, preaches at the liturgy.
Pope Francis asked Cardinal Baldassare Reina, his vicar for the Diocese of Rome, to lead the Via Crucis at the Colosseum that night. Pope Francis prepared the text of the meditations, the press office said.
The 88-year-old pope, who was released from Rome’s Gemelli hospital March 23 after 38 days of treatment, spent two weeks in his rooms in the Domus Sanctae Marthae before making any public appearances. Then he arrived briefly at the end of Masses in St. Peter’s Square April 6 and April 13, visited St. Peter’s Basilica April 10 and the Basilica of St. Mary Major April 12.
By Currents News
While this is meant to be a sacred time for Catholics and Christians around the world-
It was a bloody Palm Sunday for some people of faith in Ukraine.
Tragedy struck a city in the northeastern section of the country, as two Russian ballistic missiles landed around 10 am-
right as people were making their way to church.
Reports say the attack killed at least 34 people, including 15 children-
And injured more than 100.
Over in the war-torn Holy Land-
Four thousand people attended a Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives into the Old City of Jerusalem, just like Jesus did thousands of years ago.
Between bursts of rain, the pilgrims were led by a Christian scouts troop that sang hymns and clapped their hands as people waved their palms.
After, those fronds were blessed by Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa during a Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
In the Diocese of Brooklyn nearly 700 people were baptized into the Catholic faith at the Easter Vigil this year.
Currents News was there as hundreds of catechumens took part in the time-honored tradition of the Rite of Election.
Meet the soon-to-be Catholics of Brooklyn and Queens and learn how they are preparing to take the next step in their faith journey.
While catechumens prepare for the future, parishioners across the Diocese of Brooklyn are currently on the last leg of a different journey during the Lenten Pilgrimage.
By The Tablet and Currents News Staff
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Catholics in the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Rockville Centre will have the opportunity to become closer to God if they go to a church to confess their sins on April 14 — the day known as Reconciliation Monday.
Churches in the two dioceses and the archdiocese will be open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and priests will be on hand to welcome the faithful who wish to receive the sacrament of reconciliation in preparation for Easter Sunday on April 20.
Parishioners can contact their local churches for more information and to verify availability, or visit the Diocese of Brooklyn’s website at https://dioceseofbrooklyn.org/directories/parishes/ to find a parish near them.
Reconciliation Monday is a day in the Lenten season that gives the faithful a chance to become reconciled with God as they prepare for Easter Sunday. Lent is traditionally a time for the faithful to reflect, repent and seek forgiveness for their sins in advance of celebrating Christ’s resurrection.
By Currents News
The Brooklyn streets filled with parishioners and palms, as hundreds kicked off Holy Week with a procession to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.
The walk is meant to make them like Christ, re-enacting Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
But the Diocese of Brooklyn is reminding the faithful– the Palm Sunday procession and service means a sacred time– starts now.
Dozens celebrating Palm Sunday, including some who will make their sacraments at the end of this Holy Week.
Together they commemorated Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, where those who greeted him waved palms.
“For me, it’s a special day and we meet other people,” Gloria Ordonez said. “I believe in God, and it’s a celebration day, we have faith, and for me, faith is very important.”
“We just make sure that we come and process with our palms, sing and just be happy and just say, ‘ok Christ is alive!’” Sandra Adams said.
Through song, they prayed– stopping traffic in busy Prospect Heights, causing pedestrians to stop– to see what was going on.
“It’s a sign that people notice, that they see us sharing our faith,” Bishop Robert Brennan said. “They see us walking with the Lord, and hopefully that can be a moment of evangelization or at least a moment of hope that there’s something more than the everyday activity- there’s something deeper to this life.”
Bishop Robert Brennan led the half-mile procession from Grand Army Plaza to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, where he celebrated mass.
Palm Sunday begins the holiest week for catholics, and the shepherd of the Diocese of Brooklyn says we shouldn’t treat it like any other.
“It’s easy to just go through the motions or squeeze them in between all of our other responsibilities, but there’s a real call to make this truly a holy week,” Bishop Brennan said.
By Katie Vasquez
Spring flowers, bunnies and eggs, all these things are part of the joys of Easter.
Roy Jensen owns a house on 79th street in Brooklyn, which he has been decorating since he moved in.
“1990. We started off small, but then we grew,” said Jensen, whose home is know as Bay Ridge’s “Holiday House.”
The house goes all out for every holiday, like Christmas, Valentine’s day and now Easter. Jensen starts planning the display four months ahead of time, acquiring hundreds of ornate finds.
“Pretty much everything is new if I can find unique stuff. Always look for unique. It’s not generic, you know, I go all over,” he told Currents News” Sometimes I’m up at five in the morning until 10:00 at night looking for stuff. Jersey, Long Island, everywhere. It’s got to be unique or else i’m not going to buy it.”
The Brooklyn homeowner noticed that people were yearning for hope, especially after the pandemic.
“People were so depressed and they saw our lights and it was like a beacon for them. They congregated here and it brought them happiness. That really shocked me, and they asked if I could keep the lights on all night so that’s when I really started doing more and more after that,” said Jensen.
His neighbor, Melissa Zarkos, says seeing the decorations has lifted her spirits.
“It makes a lot of people happy,” the parishioner of St. Ephrem Church in Bay Ridge told Currents News. “Stuff like that makes me happy… being a Catholic, I kind of like it. You know, it brings joy being Christian and everything, so it’s really nice. I like the bunnies.”
A realtor and Our Lady of Angels parishioner, Louis Guida is preparing for the resurrection of Christ on Easter and says the decorated home in the neighborhood is a reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
“The fact that our Lord and savior did what he did for us and sacrificed, He says to come to us like a child, right? That you come to Jesus like a child, right? And, I think that every time I pass this house around, especially other holidays, I always feel like a child,” he told Currents News.
Although the home has gone viral on social media, drawing people from as far as New Jersey, Jensen says he doesn’t do it for money or fame, just to make others smile.
“They flock here to bring some joy, you know. And that really excites me.”
Jensen is already planning his next display for the Fourth of July.
The owner of Brooklyn’s viral “Holiday House” raised his children with a Catholic education. Now he’s raising the bar for Easter decor in his neighborhood.
The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage is helping people prepare spiritually for the Easter Holiday as parishioners make their last few stops along the route.
The Vatican is reporting that Pope Francis’ surprise visit to St. Peter’s Basilica is a clear sign that the Holy Father’s health is improving.
By Currents News
Roy Jensen lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where he raised his children with a Catholic education in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Now he’s raising the bar for how to gather New Yorkers together this spring: he runs the “Holiday House,” which is currently displaying ornate Easter decorations.