Bishop Robert Brennan headed to the 10 Mile River Scout Camp in Narrowsburg, New York, to celebrate Mass on July 23, connecting with young scouts who were learning leadership and nature skills.
Three sisters are leading a wave of new altar servers at St. Bernadette Church.
An astounding 50,000 young altar servers will gather in Rome for a special meeting and thank you from Pope Francis.
Get inspired by celebrity stories of faith and success in Craig Tubiolo’s new book, “All the Green.”
Pope Francis will meet with about 50,000 altar servers from all over Europe—mainly from Germany, on July 30 in St. Peter’s Square.
Each summer, schedule permitting, the Pope typically devotes part of his time to this group of young people. For example, this was how the meeting with French altar servers went in 2022.
“You have chosen to be ministers, and I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the efforts,” Pope Francis said. “Sometimes the sacrifices that you accept in order to devote yourselves to this commitment as ministers, while many of your other friends prefer to sleep in on Sunday mornings or play sports. Don’t be ashamed to serve the Altar, even if you are alone, even if you are growing up. It is an honor to serve Jesus when he gives his life for us in the Eucharist.”
INDIANAPOLIS — For Diego and Jenny Oviedo, knowing that it was the first event of its kind in over 80 years, it was paramount that they make it to the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. From their first step in the Expo Center, the Ozone Park couple knew the money and time put into the five-day revival was worth it, and were elated to grow in their understanding of Jesus in the Eucharist.
“We lose how great the Eucharist is, how important it is to our faith to have that belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist. I just wanted to experience this closer, to see other people who believe the same thing I do, and who have that fire,” Diego said.
The Eucharist was centerstage for nearly 50,000 Catholics at the National Eucharistic Congress, as they rededicated themselves to the core tenet of their faith — that the reception of the Body and Blood of the Lord is the source and sustenance of life.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Jenny Oviedo said. “To see so many people and see how our faith is so alive even though you hear so many things otherwise.”
Held at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indianapolis Convention Center from July 17 to July 21, the Congress drew lay people and clergy from across the country, including the Diocese of Brooklyn, who came together on a national scale to worship God. Nightly revivals, Masses celebrated in a range of languages, and perpetual adoration were the backbone of the event, supplemented by numerous breakout sessions, exhibits, and educational booths in an expo center that allowed for nonstop education and discussion about how to deepen one’s faith.
The Shalom Community, the Basilica of Regis Pagis in Bensonhurst, and St. Mary Gate of Heaven Church in Ozone Park were among the groups and parishes across the Diocese of Brooklyn represented at the National Eucharistic Congress. They drove, flew, and, for some perpetual pilgrims, walked to Indianapolis.
“Too often we say, ‘We have the real presence,’ but our hearts are far from him. Too often, we just don’t care,” Father Mike Schmitz, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, and a popular Catholic podcaster said during his keynote address on Day 2 of the revival.
As he prepared to leave the congress on its final day, Shalom missionary and Rego Park resident Mauricio Macias said that the message he takes from the event is to do what Cardinal Tagle implored: To go out into the world and share the Gospel.
“Go — as the bishop said. Go and proclaim. Talk to people and evangelize everyone,” Macias, 23, said.
Coming to the National Eucharistic Congress and seeing 50,000 people who believe as he does makes Macias believe the Catholic Church is growing.
“I want it every year,” Chioma Chukwumah, 33, fellow Shalom missionary from New York, said.
Fortunately for Chukwumah, a eucharistic pilgrimage from Indianapolis to Los Angeles is being planned for spring 2025, according to Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota. He announced the plan at the end of closing Mass, and organizers are also considering holding an 11th National Eucharistic Congress in 2033.
“What the Church needs is a new Pentecost,” Mother Adela Galindo, the foundress of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary, told the crowd in her keynote speech before the concluding Mass.
“The Church must be faithful to the Gospel … not watering down the message of the Gospel,” she said. “We were born for these times. It is a time to go out in haste to a world that urgently needs to hear God’s word and God’s truth.”
During the day, attendees were offered a slew of opportunities to learn about different aspects of the faith through speakers and workshops. These included sessions specifically for priests, deacons, young faithful, and Catholics in relationships. At night, renowned leaders in the Catholic faith took to the stage to share their testimonies and headstrong certainty of Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist — and what it can do to revitalize the lives of those who choose to believe.
After the Diocese of Brooklyn’s revival held at Louis Armstrong Stadium at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in April, Bishop Robert Brennan and the parishioners from Brooklyn and Queens had already begun refocusing themselves on the crucial need for belief in the Eucharist.
To Bishop Brennan, one of the Congress’s most powerful parts was the mile-long eucharistic procession on Saturday, July 20. Thousands of religious sisters and clergy, as well as parishioners representing all the states nationwide, dressed in white, walked to the applause and singing of those watching.
“It filled me with the greatest sense of resolve. I really do have to work hard at this,” Bishop Brennan said. “When you see the numbers of people in the faith and the love that people have, I’ve got to serve that. I have to nourish that enthusiasm.”
Following the procession, Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., spoke at that night’s revival, sharing that he was convinced the crowd made it to Indianapolis “because the Lord called you and appointed you to be here personally.”
He was followed by Jonathan Roumie, a gift for fans of the TV series “The Chosen,” in which he portrays Jesus.
The two major exhibitions drew lines of over two hours, each offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a majority of the attendees. One exhibit offered the chance to see the Shroud of Turin, a length of linen cloth proclaimed by the Vatican to be the burial shroud used to wrap Jesus after his crucifixion.
The other showcased eucharistic miracles as documented by Blessed Carlo Acutis through his website, as well as a chapel offering veneration of relics, including that of the soon-to-be saint.
The Congress’ finale was a farewell Mass, celebrated by papal envoy Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. He brought with him Pope Francis’ “paternal blessings” to the 50,000 in attendance and prayers that “the congress may bear much fruit for the renewal of the Church and of society in the United States of America.”
“Out of all the things we did this week, our celebration of the Eucharist today was the source and the summit,” Bishop Brennan said. “It’s the source of all of our strength and I hope for it to be the source of a lot of energy going back to Brooklyn and Queens.”
During his homily, the bishop shared the pope’s mission for the Catholics who filled Lucas Oil Stadium: “conversion to the Eucharist.” Along with Pope Francis’ messages, he also asked the attendees to share their faith, and therefore the love of God, to the world.
“Mission is not just about work but also about the gift of oneself,” Bishop Brennan said. “Jesus fulfills his mission by giving himself, his flesh, his presence to others as the Father wills it. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfillment of his mission.”
Leadership in the Diocese of Brooklyn plans to take some of the different revival strategies seen at the National Eucharistic Congress back to their home parishes. Father Joseph Gibino, the vicar of evangelization and catechesis, hopes to host more deanery-level processions and events.
INDIANAPOLIS — An international exhibit designed and created by Blessed Carlo Acutis, showcasing the miracles he documented on his website before his death, made its way to the National Eucharistic Congress.
Titled “The Eucharistic Miracles,” the exhibit drew lines of hundreds at any time while it was open from Wednesday, July 17 to Saturday, June 20, providing both an opportunity to read about the soon-to-be saint’s work and pray before his relic. Some waited upwards of two hours to see the exhibit and venerate the relics displayed in the adjacent chapel, including Blessed Carlo Acutis and the Virgin Mary.
“I’m fascinated by the saints, and I look forward to seeing some of the miracles,” Uma Staehler, from Boston, said after standing in line for 45 minutes.
After stumbling across the campaign for Blessed Acutis’ sainthood while visiting Assisi, Staehler became enthralled by his story.
“I’m just kind of fascinated,” she said. “The saint for the internet — that seems pretty modern.”
Thanks in part to his interest in the internet and devout faith, Blessed Acutis, or “the first Millennial saint,” has been an integral part of the Catholic community since he was beatified four years ago. Dying at just 15 years old from leukemia, he is particularly popular among young Catholics, as evidenced by the varying ages of people waiting to see his work come to life in the exhibit.
“We wanted to see Jesus in the eucharistic miracles,” Anna Barghese, 12, said. “As we all know, Carlo Acutis is going to be a saint next year, so it’s good to see his work.”
The organization of the exhibit dates back to before Pope Francis recognized the second official miracle by Blessed Acutis, solidifying that his canonization will take place at some point soon. That recognition just makes the celebrations of his work at the National Eucharistic Congress that much sweeter, said Deacon Jeff Powell, a lead volunteer for the chapel.
“He’s a very popular young man,” said Deacon Powell, who is part of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. “When we started, we had no idea if people would even take time to come through to see relics, andd now they have been waiting two and a half and three hours.”
As visitors entered the exhibit, they were met with dozens of posters detailing the different Eucharistic miracles he documented on his website. The posters, offered in Spanish and English, included the miracles at Fatima, Asti, and Bolsena, among others.
After viewing the posters, visitors had the opportunity to pray before the first-class relics of eight saints and the blessed. Unsurprisingly, the line for the first-class relic of Blessed Acutis — a piece of his pericardium, the sac that surrounded his heart — was among the longest.
However, his relic was not the only one drawing attention from the congress visitors, as they had the opportunity to pray before the relics of the saints who represented the four routes of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage: St. Junipero Serra, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Juan Diego, and the Virgin Mary.
“It was such a gift. They are such big heroes of our Catholic faith, particularly in the United States,” said Carlos Roberto Ramirez, coming to the National Eucharistic Congress from Cincinnati. “Having a chance to just venerate these relics of [saints] who have done so much for us and so many people, it’s such a gift.”
The 10th National Eucharistic Congress has ended. Church leaders and Catholics are ready to spread the good news. Plans for the 11th Congress and next Eucharistic pilgrimage are underway.
A Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit, featuring 150 panels documented by Blessed Carlo Acutis, has been traveling the globe. Visitors said it strengthened their faith in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.
Brooklyn Deacon Michael Chirichella credits St. Charbel with helping him manage advanced-stage bladder cancer. His healing is documented, and he’s educating others about the saint. Ahead of St. Charbel’s feast day, details on where his relics will be on display and where Mass will be celebrated.
By Jessica Easthope
In a crowd of hundreds, Deacon Michael Chirichella stops to bless and pray over people at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast.
He’s done it countless times, knowing how much of a difference it can make.
“One of the deacons in charge of the retreat said to me, ‘Michael, stand up, turn your chair around and face your brother deacons,’ and they all laid hands on me, one by one,” Deacon Chirichella said.
He was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Even after surgery to remove tumors, his doctor said he would have to take out his bladder, prostate, and maybe more. It was hard to have hope then; something, or rather someone, showed up.
“Around that time, somebody delivered a small statue to my brother’s church, St. Joseph’s in Astoria. My brother, Father Vincent Chirichella, had no idea who this statue was. Who sent it,” Deacon Chirichella said. “His maintenance man brought it in, and they opened it up, and they said, ‘Wow. This is, I don’t know who it is.'”
And with that mysterious package, a devotion was born. Deacon Chirichella said that through the intercession of St. Charbel, his cancer was healed.
“Going on three years now, I’m cancer free,” Deacon Chirichella said. “It was really just a miracle from this saint that I never heard of before, and then I came up to the point of, ‘Now what?’”
With more than 30,000 miracles attributed to him—the most of any saint—St. Charbel, a Lebanese monk who lived in the late 1800s, became a core part of Deacon Chirichella’s life, and the life of his family.
When Deacon Chirichella’s cousin, Mary Giudice, lost her sight in her right eye after stress and multiple surgeries for a knee replacement gone wrong, he knew which saint to bring her.
“They gave me every test possible, they sent me to specialist after specialist, and they said I had an eye stroke and there was nothing they could do,” Giudice said. “My eye was completely black.”
“She’s the matriarch of our family, and really, she, like me, got knocked out of the box,” Deacon Chirichella said. “In other words, she couldn’t do anything. I went over to her house, etc.”
“I started blessing my eye with the oil,” Giudice said. “I’d make the sign of the cross, and two, three weeks later, I started to see again.”
Deacon Chirichella and Mary’s healings are now documented with the Family of St. Charbel USA, but their devotion is just beginning.
St. Charbel’s Feast Day is this Wednesday, July 24.
Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto is celebrating a Mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Astoria.
The liturgy begins at 7:30, and relics will also be on display for people to venerate.
By Katie Vasquez
It was a call Petar Vukelich waited months for, a kidney donor. It turns out his match, Allison Joyce, wasn’t a stranger.
“We grew up together. Yeah. We’ve known each other since high school,” Vukelich said.
They were friends in high school but they hadn’t spoken in years.
“Like most friendships, as you get older, you know, and you raise your family, you know, you see each other in passing and whatnot, um, so, you know, we, we didn’t speak very often,” said Vukelich
Until Allison heard about his struggles with end stage renal failure through mutual friends.
“I figured this is somebody that I know who I’ve known for a really long time. and if I could help, I would,” said Joyce.
Currents News first shared his story in May as he searched for a life saving match, friends and family helped him to put up flyers everywhere looking for someone to “share your spare”.
Allison decided to get tested.
“I’ve, you know, have always thought like if you could donate blood or bone marrow or whatever to save somebody’s life, that if you’re in the position to do so that you should,” said Joyce.
Petar hopes Allison will save his life. The Queens man has been trying everything to stay alive, from medicine to prayers.
“I always was a praying man, but now it’s more of not asking so much, but being more thankful and grateful. I mean, I really contribute what has happened, you know, certainly to Allison for her selfless gift,” said Vukelich, “just the power of prayer and everybody being behind me and with the grace of god, this is where I am now.”
As these childhood friends prepare for surgery on July 22nd, they are counting their blessings.
“God is good and you have to remain positive and, you know, put yourself in his hands,” said Vukelich.
“It was kind of just shocking that, you know, it was that I was a match. but I also just felt really lucky that I was going to be able to help Pete and save his life,” said Joyce.
by Katie Vasquez
For the past two months, Sister Mary Rose Chinn has logged lots of miles in her car.
“California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa,” Sister Mary said. “I forgot Iowa, Illinois. And here we are in Indiana.”
The nun’s cross-country trip — following the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and driving and walking the St. Junipero Serra route in the West — was for the body of Christ.
When she was tired from the long days, she set up a tent at local campgrounds, which may be humble for some, but for her, this tent has been a necessary part of her pilgrimage.
After hearing about the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in May, the California nun felt called to join, but she couldn’t be a perpetual pilgrim because she was over the maximum age of 30.
So she decided to join on her own because she felt this journey would be a true test of her faith.
“That was the point of my conversion when I first came to Mass,” Sister Mary said. “I always ask; I was questioning at the time because I read the book of Leviticus that there were all different laws about offering sacrifice, but there was no sacrifice in the different Protestant churches I’d been in.”
It turned out that time alone with Christ was exactly what she needed.
“Being able to be in solitude and in prayer, you know, and total dependence on the Lord of what’s going to happen and being protected because a lot of people say ‘You’re by yourself?’,” Sister Mary said. “I’m going, ‘Well, I’ve got all the angels and saints in heaven, souls in purgatory with me.’”
After more than 2,200 miles across the country, she hopes others will be as inspired by the body of Christ as she is.
“The focus really is on Jesus. and there’s much more to the homily, the talks that are given and even the perpetual pilgrims really make it a point,” Sister Mary said. “The Catholics need to be upfront about their faith and not hide it.”
Meet the nun who planned her own journey to the National Eucharistic Congress. Sister Mary Rose Chinn traveled across the country following the Serra Route and slept in a tent throughout the pilgrimage.
Petar Vukelich, a parishioner at Queen of Angels Church in Sunnyside, will be receiving a life-saving gift from an old high school friend. He’s saying his prayers for a successful surgery next week.
If you participate in the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, you can receive a plenary indulgence, which removes all temporal punishment due to sin, according to the Vatican.
Two centenarian twins celebrated their 100th birthday with family and friends last weekend. Born during the Calvin Coolidge administration, the sisters have experienced a lot of American history.
It’s a moment that was months in the making and tens of thousands of Catholics have been waiting for.
Watch some of the memorable moments of the opening ceremony of the National Eucharistic Congress.