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Pulse of the Parish: Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

By Christine Persichette

Every Sunday morning at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, parishioners are greeted at the doors with a warm welcome.

Inside, young adults serve throughout the 10:30 a.m. Mass. They open the doors for worshippers, serve at the altar, proclaim the readings, and help take up the collection.

Helping coordinate it all from the back of the church is 72-year-old Mary Macchiaroli.

“I think it’s time when we need at a certain age to pass the torch,” Macchiaroli said. “They’re the future of the Church.”

For Macchiaroli, the mission is deeply personal.

A parishioner since she was 6 years old, she received her sacraments at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, was married there, and spent 36 years serving as the parish’s director of religious education.

When she retired in 2025, she could have stepped away from ministry. Instead, she approached the parish’s new pastor, Father Michael Falci, and asked if she could continue serving by leading the parish’s young adult ministry.

His answer was immediate.

“Absolutely, and it’s a big help because she is, as you would say, the pulse of the parish — she’s the heartbeat,” Father Falci said. “She’s the one who knows the goings and comings, the history, because she has that institutional knowledge. That’s so important in a parish — to understand how things were and where we can go.”

Despite the decades separating their ages, Macchiaroli has formed close relationships with the young adults she mentors.

“She’s a wonderful lady,” said Sonny Kwiatkowski. “She helped my family a lot through the struggles, and I made a new best friend right there. She’s a really amazing person.”

His sister, Lara Kwiatkowski, said Macchiaroli takes a genuine interest in the lives of the parish’s young people.

“She’s always asking us about what’s going on in our lives with school,” Lara Kwiatkowski said. “If one of us gets principal’s list, she’ll make sure that it’s posted there, so she really tries to be involved with everything in our lives.”

Macchiaroli said her faith is what motivates her to continue serving.

“My faith is everything in my life,” she said. “I thank God I have what I had, because I wouldn’t get through anything without it. We’ve all gone through deaths, sickness, people you’ve lost, challenges, but my faith is the only thing that keeps me going.”

While she hopes to pass that faith on to the next generation, she said the experience has been equally rewarding for her.

“I think it’s important to mentor the teens and the youth,” Macchiaroli said. “It’s part of my life, and I feel the more you give, the more you get back.”

Week after week, Macchiaroli continues greeting parishioners by name, encouraging young adults, and helping ensure they have a place to serve.

For Father Falci and the parish community, she remains the heartbeat of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 6/24/26

A recent study reveals that only 15% of children raised Catholic continue practicing as adults – it also determined what you should do to successfully pass on the faith to your kids.

June 24 marks the anniversary of a major victory in the pro-life fight: on this day in 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, is now in Maine where faithful are celebrating the feast of St. John the Baptist.

Sandy Ground’s Legacy Lives On Through Faith, Family, and History

By Jessica Easthope

For one descendant of Staten Island’s historic Sandy Ground community, preserving the story of the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited free black settlement begins with family.

“My grandmother wrote the Sandy Ground Memories in 2005,” the descendant said. “That’s really where I got a lot of my history to get the full genealogy to the first ancestor that came here, which was Francis Jackson and John Jackson. That’s how I know my history.”

That history stretches back to the early 1800s, when Sandy Ground became home to free black families who built successful lives through the region’s thriving oyster and clamming industries.

“If we go back to the early 1800s, there was this booming waterway industry, booming commercial industry for watermen, oystermen, clammers,” the descendant explained. “We’re seeing that all in the Eastern Shore. That’s where the majority of Sandy Grounders came from.”

The community once teemed with life.

“Turtles. Pheasants. Frogs. Birds. Insects. Trees. Plains. Whatever. Nothing like it was.”

More importantly, Sandy Ground represented a diverse community that offered a vision of what America could become.

“There were indigenous people. There were white people. There were black people. This was a sample set of what America should be now.”

“The ideal of America, where you could be judged on your character, who you are, not what you look like.”

At a time when black Americans faced slavery and widespread oppression, Sandy Ground stood apart.

“This was a resilient community that at a time where black people were being oppressed, enslaved, your ancestors were here owning their own boats, having a lucrative business. They were doing things that were unheard of throughout the country.”

The descendant believes that legacy deserves wider recognition.

“Black history is American history.”

“When you talk about Sandy Ground, I think about liberation, I think about freedom.”

The community’s founders, they said, were never seeking recognition.

“Black people weren’t seen. They were seen as property, less than. I don’t think the original settlers of Sandy Ground were in it for fame or, ‘Oh, look at us.’ It was looking for their part of the American dream.”

“Because if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.”

For the descendants who continue preserving Sandy Ground’s history today, faith remains inseparable from that mission.

“What’s here that you can’t feel from AI? Love and God and faith.”

“We can’t separate the faith from the existence of the community. And that’s why Rossville AME Zion is such a big deal to us.”

Preserving that legacy requires ongoing work, whether through fundraising, grants, or community support.

“What are we doing? All that we can, using our resources the best way we know how to, whether that’s trying to apply for grants, whether that’s fundraising.”

Despite concerns about the future, the descendant remains hopeful.

“I think my biggest fear is that it becomes, ‘Do you remember Sandy Ground?’ That we die out. That Sandy Ground just becomes like a folk tale.”

But that, they insist, will not happen.

“Sandy Ground is still making history. Rossville AME Zion is still making history. Oh my. We’re going to continue.”

“You don’t give up on God. He don’t give up on you. And he’s given us this. So we’re not giving up.”

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 6/23/26

Pope Leo XIV joined children at the Vatican summer camp as they sang an unofficial World Youth Day anthem and looked ahead to the 2027 gathering in Seoul.

Young Catholics from the Diocese of Brooklyn are reflecting on their experiences at the Jubilee in Rome.

Pilgrims carried the Blessed Sacrament through southern New Hampshire as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage continues its journey.

Descendants of Staten Island’s historic Sandy Ground community are working to preserve the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement.

Currents News Special, ‘America 250: The Faith Story’ To Air Friday, June 26 at 7 PM

As the United States celebrates 250 years of independence, NET-TV will premiere a special edition of Currents News, “America 250: The Faith Story,” on Friday, June 26, 2026, at 7 p.m.

The hour long broadcast explores the vital role religion, and Catholics in particular, have played in the American story.

This special will feature:

  • The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage — One Nation Under God

Pilgrims carrying the Blessed Sacrament are journeying across America, stopping at historic sites that highlight the Church’s enduring presence in the life of the nation. Beginning in St. Augustine, America’s oldest Catholic city and ending in Philadelphia, the pilgrimage is serving as a powerful witness to faith, unity and hope.

  • The Country’s Consecration

For the first time in the nation’s history, the U.S. Bishops have consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during its 250th year. We examine the meaning of this historic act and why the Diocese of Brooklyn joined in this spiritual milestone, entrusting the country’s future to Christ.

  • The Fight for Freedom and Faith in the Diocese of Brooklyn

Long before Brooklyn became one of America’s most vibrant Catholic communities, its shores and neighborhoods were witness to some of the defining moments of the Revolutionary War. Join us in visiting historic sites throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn, including the Brooklyn Heights promenade and the Old Stone House in Park Slope, and explore how the struggle for liberty unfolded in the diocese, making its Catholic story part of the broader American journey.

Currents News is produced by NET-TV, an Emmy Award-winning cable network featuring news and information from the Catholic perspective.

It is available in the New York area on Spectrum Channel 97, Optimum Channel 30, and Verizon Fios Channel 548. Viewers can also watch the programming live at www.netny.tv/watchnow and on YouTube.

Mr. Met Surprises Catholic School Students at End-of-Year Mass

By Currents News

Students at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Bayside, Queens got an unexpected guest on their last day of school. Mr. Met brought smiles, high-fives, and plenty of excitement as he joined the school community for Mass, photos, and a special kindergarten graduation celebration.

Brooklyn Catholics Make Annual Pilgrimage to Historic Pennsylvania Shrine

By Currents News

Hundreds of Catholics from across the Diocese of Brooklyn traveled to Pennsylvania for a day of prayer, fellowship, and faith at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa. The annual Cursillo pilgrimage brought together members from more than 35 parishes and offered a unique connection to both American history and spiritual renewal.

Human Trafficking Concerns Rise as FIFA World Cup Draws Millions of Visitors

By Katie Vasquez

Human trafficking advocates are warning that the FIFA World Cup, one of the largest sporting events in the world, could create opportunities for traffickers to exploit vulnerable individuals.

The tournament is expected to draw 6.5 million visitors from around the globe for more than 100 matches over five weeks. While the event celebrates international competition and unity, experts say large-scale sporting events can also increase the risk of human trafficking.

“Unfortunately, one of the evil byproducts that occurred during this awesome event where you see countries come together,” said James King, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference.

Concerns stem from past major sporting events. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office reported that 73 victims were recovered and 29 traffickers were arrested in Santa Clara, California, during this year’s Super Bowl, a single-day event.

“It’s naive for us to think that an influx of tourism and an influx of traffic on the road would not create, you know, a demand,” said Felicitas Brugo Onetti, anti-trafficking education outreach coordinator for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain labor or commercial sex acts. Advocates point to issues that emerged during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“Migrants from a bunch of different countries in Asia going to Qatar for promises of a job,” Brugo Onetti said.

Faith-based organizations, including the New Jersey Catholic Conference and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, are working to educate the public about the issue. The groups recently hosted a webinar and continue to partner with nonprofit organizations that work directly with trafficking victims.

King said some organizations distribute bars of soap to hotels with wrappers containing the human trafficking hotline number.

“They do that because they know victims of human trafficking often are in these hotels,” he said.

Experts encourage the public to remain alert for suspicious activity and to contact law enforcement or event staff if concerns arise. They stress that individuals should never approach suspected victims or traffickers directly.

Leaders from the New Jersey Catholic Conference and the USCCB say Catholics have a particular responsibility to respond to the issue.

“We have this call. Francis, the Holy Father, really talked about the sin of human trafficking,” Brugo Onetti said. “The sin of human trafficking is an open wound on the body of Christ. And we’re all called to combat it.”

King said the Church views trafficking as a violation of human dignity.

“We look at human trafficking as an assault on the dignity of the person,” he said. “They are a child of God and they are due that protection.”

The organizations say they will continue raising awareness about human trafficking and plan to hold additional webinars ahead of future major sporting events.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 6/22/26   

The FIFA World Cup is underway in cities across North America — Catholic leaders are warning that major sporting events come with dangers of human trafficking.

Pope Leo XIV paid homage St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized, by visiting her birthplace near Milan.

Hundreds of Catholics from the Diocese of Brooklyn received a U.S. history lesson while getting closer to God during a pilgrimage to Pennsylvania.

The mascot for the New York Mets made a special stop at a Queens Catholic academy to celebrate the last day of school for students.