By Katie Vasquez
From mayoral races to local propositions, New Yorkers turned out to make their voices heard. Currents News’ Katie Vasquez reports from Our Lady of Hope Catholic Academy in Middle Village, where voters cast their ballots in today’s election.
By Currents News
On Nov. 2, nearly 2,000 Catholics gathered at cemeteries across the Diocese of Brooklyn to honor loved ones who have passed away.
Bishop Robert Brennan, along with auxiliary bishops, celebrated Masses at several sites, giving the faithful an opportunity for quiet reflection and prayer. Those in attendance received a prayer card and the Miraculous Medal as symbols of faith and remembrance.
The annual field Masses are a simple yet powerful act of love for those who are missed — and a reminder of the hope that we will one day see them again.
By Ed Wilkinson and Currents News
When Paul Zwolak stood up in the chapel at St. Joseph’s Seminary and proclaimed, “Present,” he was announcing that he was ready to serve the Church in Brooklyn and Queens.
Zwolak was one of four men ordained as transitional deacons by Bishop Robert Brennan on Nov. 1. The others were Joseph Haas for the Archdiocese of New York and Patrick O’Brien and Dillon Vita for the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
All four will be ordained priests for their respective dioceses in the spring.
Bishop Brennan was joined on the altar by New York Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Joseph Colacicco and Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop James Massa, who also serves as the rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, as well as members of the seminary faculty and priests from the three dioceses.
Deacon Zwolak is a native of Middle Village, where he was a member of Our Lady of Hope parish. His Polish-born parents continue to reside in the parish.
The new deacon went on to Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood, where he discerned his vocation during a retreat during his senior year. He then attended St. John’s University while living at the Cathedral House of Formation in Douglaston, before moving on to St. Joseph’s Seminary.
During his pastoral year, he served at St. Francis de Sales Church in Belle Harbor, where he said he “learned a lot from the priests and the people.”
“It was a great experience,” Deacon Zwolak said.
He also ministered at the St. Jude Shrine Church in Canarsie. He has been assigned to serve as a deacon at St. Matthias Church in Ridgewood while completing his studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary.
“I hope to bring God’s word to the people there,” Deacon Zwolak said. “That really came through to me as the bishop was presenting me with the Book of the Gospels today.”
During the ordination ceremony, where they received the sacrament of Holy Orders, the new deacons pledged obedience to the bishops of their dioceses and promised to live a celibate life. They then prostrated themselves on the floor of the sanctuary while the entire congregation chanted the Litany of the Saints.
Bishop Brennan laid hands on the heads of each candidate, signifying the unbroken passing on of ministry. He also presented each with the Book of the Gospels with the exhortation, “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
As they await ordination to the priesthood, the new deacons can baptize, instruct believers and unbelievers, and officiate at wake services.
Deacon Zwolak served at a Mass of thanksgiving for his ordination on Nov. 2 at St. Francis de Sales Church.
By Currents News
Some parishioners in Queens had the opportunity to connect with the saints during an All Saints Day celebration at Holy Family Church in Fresh Meadows.
More than 250 relics of saints were brought to the parish by Carmelite priest Father Justin Cinnante, who has been collecting first-class relics since he was in high school. During the vigil, parishioners held lit candles in remembrance of the heroes of the Church.
This year, the annual All Saints Day celebration focused on St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Gianna Molla, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux, along with her parents, the patron saints of marriage.
This Black Catholic History Month, a historic pipe organ at a Brooklyn church still fills the pews with praise — thanks to the vision of the parish’s first Black pastor, who helped preserve the instrument.
Parishioners at Holy Family Church in Queens venerated more than 250 relics of saints during an All Saints’ Day celebration.
Currents News reporter Katie Vasquez joined more than 55,000 runners for this year’s New York City Marathon.
Pope Leo XIV has named St. John Henry Newman the 38th Doctor of the Church, recognizing the 19th-century theologian’s profound impact.
By Paula Katinas and Currents News
SUNSET PARK — As a reporter for Currents News, Katie Vasquez can usually be found running after a breaking news story, her camera at the ready and a microphone in her hand. But on Nov. 2, the intrepid reporter was running for an entirely different reason.
Vasquez was one of an estimated 55,000 runners who participated in the New York City Marathon, the grueling 26.2-mile run through the city’s streets.
The course covers all five boroughs, starting on Staten Island and concluding in Central Park. Brooklyn and Queens, the two boroughs that comprise the Diocese of Brooklyn, include a large portion of the route.
It was Vasquez’s first marathon, and she completed it in 7 hours, 32 minutes, and 31 seconds. When she crossed the finish line in Central Park, she felt an enormous sense of accomplishment.
“I thought, ‘I’m finally here. I did it,’ ” she said. “And then it was nice when they put the medal around your neck” for completing the marathon.
Since it was her first marathon, Vasquez wanted to soak up the excitement — the sights, sounds, and the uniqueness of the experience. Seeing the cheering crowds of spectators lining the streets along the route was especially memorable, she said.
“I remember I was on Lafayette Avenue and there were all these people basically in the street, and they were high-fiving and cheering you on,” Vasquez recalled. “And because I had my name on my bib, people were shouting, ‘Katie, good job!’ And I would turn to them thinking, ‘Do I know them?’ Then I realized they just knew my name because of my bib.
“But it was great.”
Another highlight: getting the opportunity to run in the middle of the street.
“You don’t usually get to walk in the middle of the street, and to be able to go through all the five boroughs,” she said.
However, she noted that the marathon did have its moments.
“Some of the challenges, I’ll say, were the hills and the inclines,” she said.
One incline comes at the very start of the race when the runners are crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
“The Verrazzano Bridge is actually the highest point in the course. I was walking up to save my energy. But as I was walking, I could feel my legs burning, and I thought, ‘Oh, how am I going to do 26 miles?’ But then I realized I was burning because it was an incline,” she explained. “Then, as soon as I got over that incline, it was a lot better.”
There were points — especially in the later parts of her run — that Vasquez said were tough. But she kept going, determined to finish the race.
“I think my mental wall was probably around mile 22 or 23, although, physically, there were a couple of moments right before mile 20 where I thought my legs were going to give out,” she admitted.
Vasquez, an experienced runner who has participated in numerous races, including a half-marathon, spent several months training to prepare for the New York City race. She said she ran varying lengths about three days a week. Fridays, she explained, were easier runs of two to five miles, while Saturdays were for long runs. She also said she did weight training to increase her upper body strength.
Now that she has her first marathon under her belt, does she plan to run in another one?
“I think I definitely do,” Vasquez said. “I think I want to do New York City again, but maybe not right away.
“This was a good marker for me to be able to tell myself, ‘I can do it.’ ”
By Katie Vasquez and Paula Katinas
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Every Sunday, when Joseph Murray presses the keys of the pipe organ in the choir loft of Our Lady of Victory Church, he is part of a long line of musicians stretching back 130 years who have played the magnificent instrument.
“It’s a great honor, and it’s always exciting to come up here and play because it’s such a beautiful sound. It’s such an amazing organ,” said Murray, the music co-director of St. Martin De Porres Parish, which includes Our Lady of Victory Church.
The organ and its 2,300 pipes are part of the history of the church and of black Catholics in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Installed a few months before Our Lady of Victory Church opened in 1895, the organ was built by Reuben Midmer & Son, an organ-production company founded in Brooklyn in 1860 that later made organs for silent movie theaters.
The organ inspired generations of Our Lady of Victory Church parishioners to sing hymns at Masses. It fell into disrepair in the late 20th Century, but was rescued by Father Martin Carter, the church’s first black pastor, who served the predominantly black congregation from 1995 to 2008.
Father Carter, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, organized a fundraising effort to get the organ restored in the late 1990s, and parishioners responded.
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“He was one of these priests who just believed in the idea of when there’s a will, there’s a way,” explained Murray, who added that Father Carter “was very serious while he was pastor here at restoring the church, restoring the instrument … using his time here to inspire and encourage black Catholics to be committed to their faith.”
Father Alonzo Cox, pastor of St. Martin De Porres Parish, said Father Carter had a vision for Our Lady of Victory Church.
“His vision was to make sure that this community remained a staple for the growing black community,” Father Cox explained. “He wanted to make sure that this place would remain a place where black Catholics come to worship.”
Thanks to the efforts of Father Carter and parishioners, the organ was restored — one pipe at a time — by David Schmauch and Donald Schwing, the restorers the pastor hired, and the instrument was ready by Christmas of 1997 to fill the church once again with beautiful music.
Father Carter died in 2021 at age 91. His legacy lives on in the organ he gave a second life.
“We thank him for the work that he did in his legacy and making sure that this organ remains a part of this parish,” Father Cox said. “We use the organ every Sunday, and we’re very blessed that it’s still in great condition.”
Our Lady of Victory Church is in the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, a designation granted by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1971 to protect an area comprising 13 blocks and over 400 buildings.
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The organ has also been cited for its historical value. In 2002, the Organ Historical Society, a national organization, recognized it with a Historic Organ Citation, labeling it as a preservation-worthy instrument.
Murray is aware of the organ’s history and his connection to the musicians who played it before him.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to know that there have been amazing musicians who have also had the privilege of sitting at this bench and recognizing that you are part of a tradition,” he said. “I think sometimes we forget that you’re standing on the shoulders of people who have worked very hard at making sure that this instrument … does the work of inspiring people to be even more deeply committed to the liturgy, more deeply committed to their faith life.”
By Katie Vasquez
A 130-year-old organ at Our Lady of Victory Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant still fills the pews with powerful music each Sunday. During Black Catholic History Month, Currents News shares how the parish’s first Black pastor helped preserve both the instrument and the community it serves.
By Currents News
New York City judges, lawyers, and legal professionals prayed for guidance during the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Red Mass.
The annual liturgy is organized by the Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn to mark the beginning of the judicial year.
Father Patrick Keating celebrated the Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn and encouraged the legal professionals to turn to the Holy Spirit as they help all of God’s people.
Father Keating went on to say to the judges and lawyers that we are called to see a stranger in need and raise them up.
By Currents News
Business owners along Court Street in Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill are suing the city and the Department of Transportation over a proposed bike lane.
The Court Street merchants claim the redesign that removed a traffic lane to add a bike lane is choking traffic and hurting local business.
It’s a sentiment the pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Church — which is located on Court Street — shared with Currents News.
“How do I get a funeral in here or a wedding in here? How do you do this without causing more chaos on Court Street?,” Monsignor Guy Massie asked. “I think we need to relook or redo this or at least see this again. It is a very big problem.”
The lawsuit looks to get rid of the city’s redesign and require the city to work with the community on an alternative.