By Currents News
Adults and children alike joined together to put on a unique, interactive Christmas play in Elmhurst, Queens called “The Babe of Bethlehem.” In this interactive musical a group of friars, led by St. Francis, retell the story of the first Christmas.
Parishioners and faith formation students set the scene at St. Adalbert’s Church, where those in the pews were encouraged to pray and sing along with the players of the joyful Christmas show.
By Jessica Easthope
There’s 17,000 lights on the 28-foot Norway Spruce that sits across from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch in Grand Army Plaza. The multicolored bulbs represent the diversity of the Diocese of Brooklyn, something Bishop Robert Brennan celebrates all year round.
“I speak a lot about not only diversity but what we would call being Catholic,” Bishop Brennan tells Currents News. “Catholic means universal, the universality of who we are and communion that we are, drawn together by a deep bond formed by faith, hope and love by our connection with Jesus Christ who we celebrate these days in a particular way.”
For about a decade the Diocese of Brooklyn has been a lighting a tree in Grand Army Plaza for the faithful to see as a symbol of light and hope during Advent. With musical performances and plenty of holiday cheer, those who came to see this year’s tree illuminated say it instantly puts them in the Christmas spirit.
“It’s nice to have these symbols and traditions that evoke that feeling of community and family,” says tree lighting attendee Caleb Ferguson.
“We just moved to New York, coming to the tree and seeing it go up will get us in the Christmas mood every year,” Caleb Ollivant, who brought his two children to the event, adds.
The tree will stand across from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch until the first week of January.
By Currents News
The alumni of Incarnation Catholic Academy in Queens, New York rallied together to help their school on December 7, hosting an alumni and friends event in an effort to revitalize their alumni association and raise funds for the school.
The class of 1956, the academy’s first graduates, were the honorees of the night. The event also had a fun itinerary for everyone including raffles, dancing, and a warm dinner.
by Katie Vasquez
Ovidiu Iorgovan has felt inspired to venerate a relic that is currently at Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Church containing bones that once belonged to three of seven Romanian bishops who died for their faith. Four of the bishops were buried in a common grave.
“These people had a hard time, made a big sacrifice for their faith,” explains Iorgovan, who is a parishioner of St Mary Romanian Catholic Mission. “You know, there was no freedom of religion that we have today.”
Like many from the European country, he only learned of the bishops when he came to the U.S. because their stories were hidden.
When the communist regime moved in after World War II, the Romanian Greek Catholic Church was officially banned and the seven bishops were arrested in 1948.
The prelates were pressured to convert to the orthodox hierarchy but refused and all died while imprisoned. They were beatified by Pope Francis in 2019.
Father Radu Titonea is the administrator for St. Mary Romanian Catholic Mission and helped bring the relic to the Diocese of Brooklyn because he knew the bishops’ story was crucial for Romanian parishioners.
“You know, they are an example to follow,” he tells Currents News. “And faith being faithful doesn’t mean only happiness and only blue sky. Sometimes you have to be ready to sacrifice.”
The Romanian Catholic Diocese Eparchy of St. George in Canton, Ohio, is taking the relics on a pilgrimage for the first time in the U.S. Bishop John Michael Botean of Ohio hoped the bishops would not only bolster pride among the Romanian community, but deepen their faith.
“Move a little bit out of the sense that we are just a cultural group, and witness the faith in action in a very courageous and heroic way,” is what he wants to see happen.
Elena Chinda, a parishioner of St. Mary Romanian Catholic Mission, says venerating these relics was a once in a lifetime experience that prompted her to think how she can live out her life differently: “They make me think about how do I accept certain changes in my life compared to theirs.”
By Currents News
Everyone remembers their favorite Christmas toy: ripping the wrapping, eyes lighting up, and finding the ultimate childhood holiday joy.
But the reality is that not every child gets presents abound. That’s why Catholic Charities steps in, because when hope is lost help is found.
In East Flatbush, Brooklyn, people are getting to shop somewhere better than a store through the efforts of the organization.
By Currents News
Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan led a 100th anniversary celebration over the weekend of December 8: more than 900 people packed the pews of Immaculate Conception Church in Jamaica, Queens, honoring the century since the Passionists bought the land and the stately mansion on it.
They would use that property for the community’s first-ever Mass, as well as for the rectory and monastery before getting their actual church.
During the modern-day celebration, parishioners honored their patroness by bringing flowers to a statue of the Blessed Mother.
Bishop Brennan also blessed some newly renovated classrooms.
December 12 marks the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and thousands of parishioners in the Diocese of Brooklyn have joined together for prayer and pilgrimage.
This week’s Tablet newspaper is getting readers into the Christmas spirit with a faith-filled gift guide and a donation campaign to ensure every child has a present under the tree this year.
Catholic teachers working in public schools are honored for their commitment to their students and their faith.
By Katie Vasquez
From the way they’re dressed to their dance steps, every part of the December 12 celebration at the Co-Cathedral of St Joseph is highlighting a faith that has been passed down through the generations.
“When we dance, yes, we dance because it’s in Mexican culture, our thought, our feeling is we are dancing to our God. We are praising him. We are glorifying him,” Father Baltazar Sanchez-Alonzo, the coordinator for the ministry to Mexican immigrants, tells Currents News.
It’s all in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an almost 500-year devotion to the blessed mother so strong both in Central America and in the Diocese of Brooklyn that Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated two Spanish Masses, one for Queen parishes and one for Brooklyn churches, on Dec. 12.
“She teaches us to go to Christ, and that Christ is in the middle of us all. He’s walking among us. And so that’s what these people are representing, we’re celebrating Jesus Christ, walking with us through the journey of life,” says Bishop Brennan.
The coordinator for Mexican immigrants, Father Sanchez-Alonzo, says this feast broke records.
“This year we went past 4,000 people – 4,000 people, divided into two Masses,” said Father Sanchez-Alonzo. “So every year has increased.”
That devotion will spread through the streets of Brooklyn and Queens.
After Mass Bishop Brennan passes along a flame to more than 50 torch runners, which they will carry on foot back to their parishes.
“Taking the torches back to their parishes, it’s a great sign of the light of Christ being brought to the neighborhoods, witnessing to our faith and devotion,” explains Bishop Brennan.
For some the trek will be longer than others, but the runners don’t mind because they have their faith and each other.
“The community is the best part because we all come together to celebrate one purpose and it’s the mother Mary,” says Melvin Balderes, a parishioner at St. Stanislaus Kostka-Transfiguration parish in Queens. “She’s our mother, and as a mother she loves us so much that she gave her only son to us.”
By Katie Vasquez
There’s an open door policy at John Rullan’s office in William H Maxwell Career and Technical Education high school in East New York.
The Brooklyn principal says he is always open to hearing from students.
“When you see how you impact kids’ lives, it makes the job worth it,” he tells Currents News.
He adds that spending a whole school day together creates a bond between students and teacher, and the administrator views these teens as his own children.
“You’re with them so much that you become emotionally attached,” he explains. “When things go wrong and something happens to them, it happens to you.”
That frame of thinking has been a comfort to scholars who didn’t expect to enjoy going to the principal’s office.
“What I find is he basically is one with his students,” Doniele Brown, a senior at William H Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School, tells Currents News. “He’s trying to look out for everybody, be on their side, get to understand who they are as a person.”
“I feel like he controls the school with a sense of love rather than fear, which I think is a great motivator for the students,” fellow Aden Martine says of Rullan.
His bond with his students comes from his roots – he grew up in the neighborhood, attending St. Fortunata parish in Brooklyn and says he tries to instill Catholic values like corporal acts of mercy in his students.
For example when he came aboard in 2022 he created a food pantry, recognizing that some students couldn’t afford a good meal.
“I feel that when they see others in need, they realize that their lives are not as bad as they think they are. And so I think it’s very important to really give back to the community and society as a whole, to make these students successful in life,” Rullan says.
His efforts to better his students lives outside the classroom is being recognized by his peers at the Catholic Teachers Association. It’s an accomplishment he doesn’t take for granted.
“I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was shocked. But deep down inside, it’s always nice to be appreciated and to be recognized for all the things that you do,” he admits.
It’s rewarding for him to think he’s helping these students get on the path to success just by being an attentive listener.
“When the kids come back year after year and thank you for not giving up on them and really helping them to be successful, it makes you want to do more and give back more,” Rullan says.
By Currents News
Catholic teachers who work in public schools were honored Dec. 11 for their commitment to their students and their faith.
Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan started the evening at Russo’s on the bay in Howard Beach, Queens with a prayer and offered his appreciation for the people who teach in New York City public schools but remain devoted to their faith.
Each of the six honorees were selected by the Catholic Teachers Association based on their work as a principal, teacher, or union member.
While religion is typically not in the classroom at public schools, these educators say they are united by faith and that the event is a way to bond.
“Any time somebody wants to just take a moment to acknowledge anybody for the work you’re doing, it feels nice. It feels good,” Noah Angeles, Superintendent for the New York City Department Of Education at New Visions High Schools tells Currents News. “ I’m just appreciative of that, for the organization itself just to take a moment tonight not just acknowledge me, but other educators in the field for the work they’re doing.”
“If you think about it, the number of our children who are educated in our public schools is enormous, and so I want to be able to support the Catholic teachers who are serving in our schools and we want to be able to support them in their good work,” Bishop Brennan says.
“Although we may not speak to being Catholic inside our public schools we are absolutely modeling what it is to be a strong Catholic, which is to lead a good spiritual life, to live a life of caring about others, compassion for others, empathy for others,” adds Patrick Burns, President of the Catholic Teachers Association.