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Catholic School Students in the Diocese of Brooklyn Return to Class With Extra Security Measures in Place

By Katie Vasquez

This year Catholic school students returned to the classroom eager to share their summer adventures and ready to learn at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Academy in Bellerose, Queens. 

Then it was off to their opening Mass, but with extra security precautions in place after a Mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school.

The school requested NYPD officers outside while the children prayed. 

“It’s very hard to stand and ensure safety when honestly, anything can happen,” the school’s principal, Joseph Paniccia, told Currents News.  “Which [this] is why we set up police, which is why there’s constant phone calls, which is why we have emergency plans.” 

7th grader, Olivia Pena, admits she was a little hesitant to return to school. 

“I was a little bit nervous because I didn’t know what could happen, like anything could happen,” she said.

But her mother, Joann Duran-Pena, was relieved that the Queens school took precautions. 

“That says a lot about how seriously these situations are taken and that it raises the awareness of our children that there are safety parameters being put in place,” she told Currents News.

Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto, who celebrated the Mass hoped to ease any fears that the children might have. 

“There’s no better place to be than in God’s house to ask God’s blessing,” he explained. “And God will bless us and keep us safe, keep us on the path to holiness.”

Meanwhile, the students  offered prayers for those in Minnesota that are still grieving.

“I thought that you should always pray for people that are in need,”  4th grader Lucas Caruana told Currents News.

 “That was nice because we prayed for the people that got hurt and we thanked God. So I liked that,” added 4th grader Clover Trotman. 

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 9/3/2025

Diocese of Brooklyn students are back at school and ready to learn. As the bell rings, the recent tragedy in Minneapolis remains close to their hearts.

Security is top of mind for parents everywhere as the school year gets started, and Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens are working to make sure their students are safe.

One Catholic academy in Brooklyn is welcoming dozens of new students – one pupil shares what her transition to St Ephrem’s Catholic Academy has been like thus far.

TONIGHT AT 7: Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn Begin New School Year

By Katie Vasquez

From bustling hallways to smiling faces, Diocese of Brooklyn students are back at school and ready to learn.

But as the bell rings, the recent tragedy in Minneapolis remains close to their hearts. 

The first day of school this year is a somber reminder of the importance of a community grounded in faith. 

St. Ephrem Welcomes New Year, 65 New Students From Our Lady of Perpetual Help

By Alexandra Moyen and Currents News

DYKER HEIGHTS — The morning air outside of St. Ephrem Catholic Academy was filled with excitement and anticipation on Sept. 3 as students reunited with friends and greeted their teachers at the start of a new school year.  

“We are excited to welcome all of you back!” St. Ephrem Principal Michael Phillips said in a welcome message. “It’s you, the students and families that are truly going to make St. Ephrem even bigger than it already is.  

“Thank you for your support, your love, and welcome home!”  

St. Ephrem welcomed about 240 students through its doors on the first day. That includes 65 new students, 58 of which came from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy in Sunset Park, which permanently closed its doors in June due to a shrinking enrollment.  

RELATED: Diocese Announces Closure of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy Brooklyn

“We were able to open up our community to OLPH this year and welcome in a lot of their families to show them that Catholic education, faith, and respect for others is within our community everywhere,” Phillips told The Tablet. 

Phillips said it’s a great feeling to begin a new school year.  

“I’m very excited to welcome them,” he said. “The smiles on their face as they were walking in today — it validated what we do in Catholic education, which is providing that safe, nurturing environment where everybody can succeed.”  

Seventh grader Jocelyn Guillen, who previously attended OLPH, said she is excited for the new beginning at St. Ephrem’s.  

“I’m looking forward to all of the academics and activities they have,” Jocelyn said. “I’m also looking forward to meeting staff and new students — the school just seems like a really good place to learn.”  

RELATED: St. Ephrem Students Raise Money, Collect Goods for California Wildfire Victims

As students rushed into the school, many of them dropped off bags filled with classroom essentials, such as paper towels, tissues, hand wipes, and other necessary items to support their teachers. Afterward, they gathered in the school auditorium, where Phillips gave students another welcome alongside Father Robert Adamo, pastor of St. Ephrem Parish, who led prayer and offered his blessings for a successful school year. 

Dorothy Rivera, an administrative assistant at OLPH, said she was happy to support her old student’s transition and is “thrilled” to see them continue their Catholic education. Although, she acknowledged the moment is bittersweet. 

“I’m very sad that I won’t see them on a daily basis,” Rivera said. “But I have to say that this feels like a real family at St. Ephrem, so I’m very excited that they found a home here.” 

Award-Winning Catholic Singer Heads to Canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis

By Katie Vasquez

Before weekday Mass at St. Pancras Church in Glendale, Queens, Juan Camilo Pérez is making sure everything is in place.

When Mass starts, the religious coordinator is in the sacristy preparing for the day. 

But on September 7, 2025, Pérez will be one of a select few that will witness the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis. 

“We’re going to be right by the altar, with the pope, next to the family, next to the friends of, Carlo, actually,” he told Currents News leading up to the canonization. “So, I won’t call it a privilege to be there. I call it a blessing.”

Pérez says Blessed Carlo’s mother, Antonia Salzano, learned of his devotion to the soon-to-be saint and personally invited him, as well as gave him a unique relic.

“This relic contains four pieces. So it’s one of a kind. It’s a relic that contains a part of his body, it also has hair,” he explained. “It has the clothing that the body had when he was buried, he was wearing that day, and a piece of his casket.”

RELATED READ: St. Pancras’ Juan Pérez Wins Inaugural ‘Catholic Grammy’ for Best English Pop Song 

The Diocese of Brooklyn employee says his devotion started when he visited Blessed Carlo’s body in Assisi, Italy a few years back. 

“I passed by his body, and I felt this beautiful presence within me. And i just felt in love with Carlo,” he recalled. “And I didn’t know anything about Carlo.”

As a digital influencer, Pérez realized he had more in common with the first millennial saint than he thought. 

“I was one of the first people in the world making, live streaming, on Facebook. And, I remember I started doing seminars and preaching or doing reflections about this in the Gospel,” he said. “And that’s all because of Carlo.”

RELATED WATCH: Diocese of Brooklyn Prepares for Canonization of Blesseds Pier Giorgio Frassati, Carlo Acutis

He’s honored to represent the Diocese of Brooklyn in the Eternal City and eager to share the experience when he returns. 

“We see holiness so far away from us, but we are called to be holy. Carlo became a holy kid, and we all can be holy,” he said. And holiness starts when we decide to be close to the Lord.”

He is expected to head to Rome on Sept. 4. 

Crucifix at Queens Church Offers Story of Passionist Priest

By Katie Vasquez

As the battle of World War II continued in Europe, a passionist priest with ties to the Diocese of Brooklyn, Father Fabian Flynn, was on the frontlines. 

“He volunteered into the army as a chaplain,” said Father Victor Hoagland, CP, at the Passionist Monastery. 

Father Victor Hoagland, a passionist priest himself, says Father Flynn ended up in Germany as the infamous Nuremberg trials started.

“Fraternization with the Germans was almost forbidden. But he decided that he was going to have every Sunday a mass at a German church in Nuremberg, and everybody would be invited. It was a wonderful thing,” said Father Hoagland. 

When his military service ended, Father Flynn worked with Catholic Relief services.

“refugees, hundreds of thousands were going through those lands. So Catholic relief began its mission of taking care of the immigrants, getting them settled, getting them something to eat, recognizing their humanity,” said Father Hoagland. 

As a reward for his efforts, the German bishops gave the Passionist priest this crucifix in the 1970s which hangs in the chapel at the Passionist Monastery in Jamaica, Queens, where Father Flynn was also ordained in 1931. 

“That crucifix is extremely important because it recognizes that not only is Jesus on the cross. It’s everybody who’s on the cross.”

When people make their way through the Queens chapel, Father Hoagland has witnessed the faithful be comforted by the cross. 

“A woman came up and she put her hand right on that cross. Just putting her hand there, she’s saying, “I understand there’s some wisdom that’s communicated to me,” said Father Hoagland. 

As the world continues to deal with issues of immigration and war, Father Hoagland hopes others will be moved by the life of Father Flynn. 

“He recognized the poor, he recognized the enemy, he recognized the rivals, he recognized humanity.”

And Father Hoagland wants to make sure the passionist priest is never forgotten. 

“I have to tell them that story because I know that they need that kind of wisdom.”

 

Currents News Special: Carlo Acutis, ‘God’s Influencer’ To Air Sept. 7 at 7 PM

By Currents News

Currents News, New York’s nightly Catholic television newscast, will air a half-hour special, “Carlo Acutis, ‘God’s Influencer’” on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. EST on NET-TV.

This special explores the remarkable story of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the tech-savvy teen to become the first millennial saint.

Carlo will be canonized in Rome on Sept. 7, 2025, but his impact is already felt deeply across the Diocese of Brooklyn and throughout the world.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 9/2/2025

A Queens parish employee personally invited by Blessed Carlo Acutis’ mother is heading to Rome to witness the tech savvy teen’s canonization — and he recently won international recognition for his Catholic music.

In Minneapolis, parishioners at Annunciation Catholic Church took a step toward healing with the community’s first Mass celebrated since the tragic shooting.

St. John’s University in Queens welcomed more than 2,600 students during move-in weekend.

On the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a Queens monastery is remembering Passionist priest Father Fabian Flynn, who ministered in Germany during the Nuremberg Trials and helped refugees through Catholic Relief Services.