Joan Flynn Celebrates 50 Years Serving Brooklyn Diocese

DeSales Media Group and The Tablet were proud to honor Joan Flynn for her 50 years of service to the diocese at a special luncheon for family, friends and colleagues at Michael’s Restaurant, Marine Park, on March 13. Among the guests were her former boss, Frank DeRosa, retired public information director for the Brooklyn Diocese, and his wife, Liliane, and Flynn’s good friend, Msgr. John J. Bracken, diocesan director of patrimony. Flynn, who continues to work part-time at The Tablet, said she has loved serving the diocese and has never had a day that she didn’t look forward to her work. Above, she is seated at right, surrounded by her family members.

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Catholic musician and worship leader Bob Rice (www.bobrice.com) is performing an Easter Concert on Friday, April 12, 7:30-10 p.m. at Presentation B.V.M. Church in Jamaica. On Saturday, April 13, he will join parishioners for a Healing Service, 7:30-10 p.m. For details, call 718-739-0241.

News about drug and weapons trafficking often makes its way into the media, but there is a far more appalling type of buying and selling on the rise: human trafficking.
The Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s University, Jamaica, in collaboration with the New York Coalition of Religious Congregations to Stop Trafficking of Persons and LifeWay Network, will address this human rights issue in relation to the travel industry at an upcoming conference: Human Trafficking: Whose Business Is It? The Travel Industry’s Role in Ending Modern-Day Slavery, April 6, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the D’Angelo Center, Room 416.
The keynote presenter will be Sandi D. Mitchell, formerly of Sabre Holdings, a global technology leader. Discussions will follow.
The donation for the day is $20 and includes continental breakfast and box lunch. The student rate is $5. You must register by April 3. To register, contact Mary Ann Dantuono at 718-990-1612 or dantuonm@stjohns.edu.

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens is proud to announce the opening of its Behavioral Health Center Outpatient Clinic at 161-10 Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica – the newest addition to its behavioral health programs in Brooklyn and Queens.
The new center offers individual, group, marital and family therapy to adults and children, ages five and older, who are struggling with mental illness.
For details, call 718-704-5488 or visit www.ccbq.org.

Dance the night away with Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez and Cursillistas at the Cursillo Movement’s 50th Anniversary Dinner Dance, April 5, 8 p.m. at the Grand Prospect Hall, Park Slope. Tickets are $120 per person. For tickets or details, call Alex Gonzalez, 646-773-9810, or Clara Rodriguez, 917-482-8904.

This week, we offer our Tip of the Tablet TALK Top Hat to two worthy recipients.
The first goes to the students, families and faculty of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Academy, Park Slope, who raised $500 for autism awareness this Lent. Proceeds went to the Mid Hudson Valley Camp, which serves a diverse population of children with special needs.
The second goes to the San Pasquale Benevolente Society of Airola for its generous $2,500 donation to Nativity B.V.M. – St. Stanislus Bishop and Martyr parish, Ozone Park.

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iPads Arrive in Bayside

iPad technology is changing the way teaching and learning occurs in the classroom.

by Marie Elena Giossi

Hundreds of Cursillistas exchanged greetings of “De Colores” as they gathered Nov. 10 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cursillo de Cristiandad movement in the Brooklyn Diocese with Mass and a reception at St. Teresa Church, Woodside.
The Cursillo de Cristiandad, or short course of Christianity, is a worldwide lay movement whose members are called to know Christ better and become instruments of evangelization in their homes and communities by embracing the principles of study, piety and action.
Cursilliastas sang “Quiero Decirte Que Si” (I Want to Say Yes) as they processed into Mass carrying banners representing many of the 55 diocesan parishes actively involved in the movement.
“Feliz Aniversario,” announced retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq, who was the main celebrant of the afternoon Mass. Special concelebrants included Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez, spiritual director of the movement and homilist; Msgr. Steven Ferrari, St. Teresa’s pastor; Msgr. John O’Brien, former head of the Spanish division of the diocesan Migration Office; and Father Pablo Ruani, I.V.E., pastor of St. Michael-St. Malachy, East New York.
Deacons Jaime Varela, Jorge Gonzalez and Manuel Barahona, special assistant to Msgr. Vazquez, assisted on the altar.
Among the standing-room-only crowd was Clara Rodriguez from St. Sylvester parish, East New York. 
When she lived Cursillo 326 in September, 1978, she said, “I had this encounter with Christ. There I understood who Christ is and who we are and who my neighbor is.”
Now she is one of the movement’s leaders, responsible for introducing the Cursillo to local parishes with Spanish-speaking communities.
“We’ve been evangelizing in the diocese for 50 years,” she said, “because we want to bring the Christ we all met in Cursillo to others.”
Deacon Barahona, who lived Cursillo 506, proclaimed the Gospel from St. Matthew. In the passage, Jesus commissions His disciples to go and “make disciples of all nations.”
In his homily, Msgr. Vazquez spoke about the movement’s history and meaning as well as its evangelizing mission in the Church today.  Founded on the island of Majorca, Spain, the movement began in the 1940s in response to Pope Pius XII’s call for Spanish Church leaders to bring the laity back to Christian life and values.The Catholic Action for Youth responded by organizing a pilgrimage for 100,000 youth to Santiago de Compostela. In preparation, weeklong training courses (cursillos) were held for leaders, including Eduardo Bonnin, who soon developed a system of shorter courses, which gave rise to the current three-day Cursillo retreat format.
The first official Cursillo was held in 1949 and the movement spread to the U.S. in 1957. The Brooklyn Diocese held its first Cursillo Dec. 6-9, 1962, at the Monastery of Suffern in Upstate, N.Y.
Msgr. Vazquez fondly recalled Casa de Cursillos, the movement’s former retreat house on Congress St., Cobble Hill, which operated from the mid-1960s until last year. Retreats are now held several times annually at the diocesan Jesus of Nazareth Retreat Center in East Flatbush.
To date, the diocese has conducted 668 Spanish Cursillo retreats. Much more than a retreat consisting of spiritual discussions and personal witness talks, Msgr. Vazquez said: “It’s an encounter with Jesus, but really, it’s a conversion, or renewal, and that renewal has to continue. We have to go out and work for evangelization anywhere and everywhere.”
Msgr. Vazquez lived Cursillo 53 in May, 1967, and stayed close to the movement. When the Vincentian priests, who had been directing the movement, left the diocese, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio appointed Msgr. Vazquez as the new spiritual director in January, 2008.
“I give myself completely because of the dedication of the lay people,” said Msgr. Vazquez. “It is impossible not to love it.”
Even after the retreat, Cursillistas meet for weekly and monthly group reunions as well as weekly formation sessions, which are held at St. Michael-St. Malachy parish, the home base for the movement since the Casa de Cursillos closed. 
Msgr. Vazquez noted how appropriate it is that the Cursillo should observe its golden jubilee during the Year of Faith since the movement focuses on study, piety and action, or in other words, knowing, living and sharing the faith.
While the current decline in sacramental life and the ongoing economic crisis are challenges facing the movement, Msgr. Vazquez still believes the movement is essential to the new evangelization because it fosters a continual conversion and provides a strong support network for Catholics who strive to live and spread their faith.
Felix Lajara from St. Martin of Tours, Bushwick, who lived Cursillo 662 last year, agrees.
“The Cursillo changed my life,” said Lajara, who says it changed the way he sees himself in relation to God and others. 
“I go to Mass every Sunday now,” he said, “and I enjoy it. I read my Bible more. I have the formation school every Monday, and we have group (meetings) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.”
In the movement, he says he’s learned the following: “God comes first and after that my neighbor. When I see my neighbor, we laugh, we hug, we cry together. And when I see my neighbor in need, I see God.”

100 Uzzis Celebrate           100 Years in America

Last month, four generations of the Uzzi family held their first family reunion to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their ancestors’ arrival in America from Italy. Uzzis from Brooklyn and across the country met at Transfiguration Church, Lower Manhattan, the family’s first parish, for a blessing from family friend, Father Raymond Nobiletti, M.M. Following the church service, the family took a walking tour of “the old neighborhood” and strolled along Mulberry St. from Mosco to Grand St. Family elders led the way, telling stories of the significance of this place and that. The family then spent hours sharing food, photos and memories, and even chatting with family back in Naples via Skype in St. Finbar’s Msgr. Scanlon Hall, Bath Beach, where several Uzzis are active parishioners. Uzzis from Regina Pacis, Bensonhurst; Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dyker Heights; and SS. Simon and Jude, Gravesend, were also present for the reunion. 

Ladies, are you ready to know yourself better? Are you ready to encounter Christ in a more personal way? Are you ready to live your Cursillo? If so, plan to attend the next Women’s Cursillo Retreat, Oct. 11-14 at the Nazareth Retreat Center, Flatbush. For more details or to register, contact Dorothy Baudry at dbaudry@aol.com or 917-929-2442.

Don’t miss your chance to get on the greens with the good people of St. Ephrem Church, Dyker Heights. The parish is hosting its 16th annual Msgr. Brown Golf Outing on Oct. 12 at Dyker Beach Golf Course. You must register by Aug. 31, so don’t delay in contacting Joe Cavalcante at 917-453-3167 or Charles LaRocca at 938-7961.

Mark your calendar! Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens will hold its second annual Diocesan Bereavement Conference on Nov. 10, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at St. John’s University, Jamaica, for individuals who have suffered a loss and those who support them in their journey toward healing. The day includes Mass with Bishop Frank Caggiano, guest speakers and workshops on spousal loss, male grief, caregiving and healing through art. Registration fee: $45, includes breakfast, lunch and materials. Group discounts available. Space is limited. Contact Ingrid Seunarine, 718-722-6214 or iseunarine@ccbq.org.

Tablet TALK Quote of the Week: “We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. … If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved … This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.” — St. Clare of Assisi, whose feast is Aug. 11

This year, the stork delivered pink bundles of joy to three members of DeSales Media Group, parent company of The Tablet and NET TV. Amelia Catherine, the second child of Blaine Hicklin, NET TV producer, and his wife, Laurel, arrived on Feb. 7. Big brother James loves his baby sis. Proud parents Ely Soriano, Hispanic Media Dept. producer, and Lucia Rojas, thanked God for the birth of their little girl, Amanda Cristina, on June 9. Mike Geoghan, NET production coordinator/producer, and wife, Susan, welcomed their second daughter, Grace Marie, on June 16. Big sister Sarah is very happy.

This week’s Tip of the Tablet TALK Top Hat goes to Anthony Cipriano, parishioner at Our Lady of the Snows, N. Floral Park, on receiving a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his volunteer work assisting disabled and hospitalized veterans at St. Albans Veterans Hospital. Master Sargeant Cipriano has also served 30 years in the Army Reserves and is a member of the Honor Guard Service Unit that provides final military honors for departed veterans. We salute you Master Sargeant Cipriano! 

Fifty Fruitful Years

Hearty congratulations to Brooklyn native, Sister Joan Franks, O.P., left, who is celebrating her golden jubilee as a Dominican Sister of Peace this year. She continues to enjoy a long and fruitful ministry in education. Her early years of teaching were spent at St. Mark School, Sheepshead Bay. Later, she served on the faculty of Fordham University, 1987-1993. In 2005, she returned to her alma mater, Dominican Academy, Manhattan, where she served for four years as principal. Currently, she teaches philosophy to seminarians at the Consolata Institute of Philosophy, Nairobi, Kenya. “It was rare for me to have a class that enjoyed philosophy, especially since it was mandatory at other schools where I had worked,” comments Sr. Joan. “My students in Africa truly enjoy the topic and see the correlation between philosophy and theology. Learning for them is a way out of poverty, and access to a career.” She also travels weekly to a monastery of Dominican nuns to teach the Dominican Order’s history and charism. “By serving these various students, I believe I am fulfilling the mission of the Dominican Sisters of Peace,” she said. Indeed! Keep up the great work Sister Joan! You make us proud!

by Antonina Zielinska

To celebrate the opening of its 50th year, the Cursillo de Cristianidad movement of the Brooklyn Diocese went back to basics.

Its members went on a mini-pilgrimage in Brooklyn inspired by the Camino de Santiago in Spain, from which the movement was born. Keeping with the tradition of the Camino, the Cursillistas walked from church to church in praise of God and His Son with hopes of inspiring onlookers.

The pilgrims started their journey at St. John Cantius church, East New York. Armed with rosaries and banners, they made their way to St. Michael-St. Malachy. Some of the Cursillistas brought shells and walking sticks used in the Spanish pilgrimage as a way to align themselves with the spirit of a pilgrim.

“It’s part of our roots,” said Alexander Gonzalez from Our Lady of the Cenacle, Richmond Hill, during the pilgrimage. “We want to show our faith to all. We want to say that the Catholic Church is present.”

Lourdes Arias from St. Catharine of Alexandria parish, Borough Park, said coming to the pilgrimage was not a difficult decision. “We are Cursillistas!” she explained.

“I’m proud to be a Cursillista,” said Nancy Pruxes from Our Lady of the Presentation, Brownsville. “It’s a big family – especially when you are from another country.”

Gonzalez, who has been part of the movement for 12 years, said his Cursillo family has helped him grow as a person and bring him closer to God. He said that once he started devoting his time to the Cursillo, a whole new world opened up for him.

“I discovered many talents that I have,” he said. “We start giving these talents to the church.”

At the end of their urban pilgrimage, Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez, spiritual director, touched upon the Cursillo’s spirit of sharing God’s graces. He asked those present to use the talents God has given them to bring people closer to the Church.

“This year is a year of great opportunity,” he said. “It’s the Cursillista anniversary and the year of faith.”

With these two milestones, Msgr. Vazquez said the Cursillistas have a great opportunity to spread literature and information about the Catholic Church. He asked them to educate themselves further on the Catechism and theology, so that they may be more knowledgeable when they speak to others.

The task with which Msgr. Vazquez charged his Cursillistas is an echo of the mission of the earliest Cursillistas.

The worldwide movement was a response to a call Pope Pius XII made in 1940 for a return to Christian values. A year later, youth in Spain, Juventud de Accion Catolica, planned an event for 100,000 youth to walk a pilgrimage to Santiago. The Cursillo officially started in 1947. Its influence soon broke all barriers and arrived in the United States in 1957 in Waco, Texas.

The Brooklyn Diocese held its first Cursillo on Dec. 6-9, 1962 in the Monastery of Suffern, N.Y. Today, the movement has a base in 56 parishes around the diocese.

Nelly Gutierrez, who serves as the current lay director, said the Cursillo movement stays true to its roots while facing modern challenges.

“We are a movement of the Church here to help each one of us comply with our baptismal responsibilities of spreading the Good News throughout the world by way of living a life in grace and evangelization of our surroundings,” she said.

Gutierrez said the movement is always looking for new leaders to continue its mission. Leadership classes meet every Monday at 7 p.m. from September thru June at the church of St. Michael-St. Malachy.

Class Rings for Rockaway Eighth Graders

Spring is just around the bend and that means graduation is on the horizon. A sure sign of that can be seen on the hands of eighth graders at St. Rose of Lima School, Rockaway Beach. Students received their class rings in a special ceremony during First Friday Mass, Feb. 3. (Photo courtesy Courtney Cruz)

Fifty years ago, Catholics in Mill Basin were given a new place to worship and express their faith. On March 30, join St. Bernard parish at its 50th Jubilee Dinner Dance, March 30, 7 p.m. at El Caribe Country Club. Tickets are $100. For tickets, call 718-763-5533.

During the past 35 years, the Federation of Italian American Organizations (F.I.A.O.), a community-based service organization, has provided services to improve the quality of life of Brooklyn individuals and families with particular focus on the needy — immigrants, senior citizens and youth. F.I.A.O. will hold its 35th annual anniversary gala on Sunday, March 25 at El Caribe Country Club, Mill basin. Cocktails at 2 p.m.; ceremony at 3 p.m.; and dinner at 4 p.m. This year’s honorees are Carmine and Carmella Del Priore of Priority landscaping and Nursery Inc.; Bruno F. Codispoti, Esq. of Codispoti and Associates P.C.; and John Sparacio of Sandler O’Neill and Partners L.P. For tickets or journal ads, call 718-259-2828.

Save the date! The Mount Carmel Theatre Company will present Duets, a one-night-only concert celebrating some of the greatest duets in Broadway’s history, April 16, 8 p.m. on the lower stage at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish, Williamsburg. Adam Mace, a graduate of Cathedral Prep Seminary, Elmhurst, will direct the production. Tickets are $10. For tickets, call 646-580-2167 or e-mail mctheatrecompany@gmail.com.

“How God became King: Why We’ve All Misunderstood the Gospels” is the topic of the 19th annual Msgr. George Denzer Lecture, scheduled for March 25 at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington. The speaker will be N.T. Wright, a professor of New Testament and early Christianity, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. To register, call 631-423-0483 ext. 112. A free-will offering will be accepted.

Are you ready to live your Cursillo? The next diocesan Women’s Cursillo Weekend is scheduled for March 22-23 at Jesus of Nazareth Retreat Center, East Flatbush. To sign up, call Dorothy Baudry, 917-929-2442.

Astoria residents are in for a treat —  an early visit from Peter Rabbit, who will hop over to Immaculate Conception School, March 31, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Children are welcome to share in a buffet breakfast, arts and crafts session and pictures with the cotton-tailed guest. Admission: $9 adult to age 14; $5, ages 13 to three; and free for children under two. Advance tickets only. For tickets, contact Dewey Hopkins, 347-215-0154 or ahop537123@aol.com.

You’re invited to join parishioners from St. Adalbert, Elmhurst, on a trip to coastal Maine, June 1-4. Visit the Maine Lighthouse Museum, Mt. Battie, Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. Cost: $475 per person, double occupancy, includes three-night accommodations, three breakfasts and dinners, and a lunch stop in Olde Mistick Village, Conn. For reservations, contact Linda Gatti, 917-887-8325.

Join St. Francis Xavier, Park Slope, for the parish’s 125th Anniversary Gala Dinner Dance, April 21, 7 p.m. at The Grand Prospect Hall. Tickets are on sale through March 30. For tickets, e-mail sfx125@nyc.rr.com.

In honor of Women’s History Month, this week’s Tip of the Tablet TALK Top Hat goes to the religious and lay women who have served this diocese since its founding in 1853. These women have — and continue to — contribute to the diocese’s proud heritage through their incalculable contributions to various ministries and peoples.

From Williamsburg to Israel 

In celebration of the 125th anniversary year of the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Williamsburg, a group of pilgrims visited Mount Carmel in Israel. Pilgrims are pictured with Msgr. Joseph Calise, pastor, at Muhraqa, the site of the sacrifice of the prophet Elijah. After six days in Israel, the pilgrimage continued for four days in Rome where the parish received a special welcome from Pope Benedict XVI at his weekly papal audience. (Photo courtesy Msgr. Joseph Calise)

Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez, spiritual director of the Spanish Cursillo Movement, holds a wooden pilgrim’s staff topped with a gourd drinking container

Around 200 Cursillistas from Brooklyn and Queens conducted a local Way of St. James on the saint’s feast day, July 25, with a street procession and evening Mass, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano at St. Paul’s Church, Cobble Hill.
Cursillistas started their celebration with an outdoor recitation of the rosary at their former retreat house, the SS. Peter and Paul Spirituality Center on Congress St. They prayed and sang amid intermittent rain showers.
Skies began to clear as the marchers stepped off with Bishop Caggiano and Msgr. Perfecto Vazquez, spiritual director of the movement, leading the two-block procession to diocese’s oldest standing church for 7:30 p.m. Mass. Parish groups carried banners and many individuals wore white seashell necklaces painted with red crosses – a symbol of St. James and El Camino de Santiago.
Spanish-speaking members of the Cursillo Movement instituted this local pilgrimage in honor of the Holy Year of St. James last year. Men and women walked between neighborhood churches and conducted a two-mile walk to St. James Cathedral, Downtown Brooklyn. The event was so well received among members that Msgr. Vazquez and lay leaders decided to conduct a similar, albeit shorter walk this year to a church named for another saint Cursillistas hold close to their hearts.
“We are honoring today two great saints – Santiago (St. James) and San Pablo (St. Paul),” the monsignor announced.
He explained that St. James is the patron of pilgrims and the patron of Spain. The Cursillo Movement began with a pilgrimage to his shrine in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in 1948. Two decades later, St. Paul was named patron of the movement.
“St. Paul was a great missionary and that is what we do as Cursillistas,” he said.
Founded in the 1940s as a way to renew Christian faith and values among the laity in Spain, the movement grew quickly and reached the Brooklyn Diocese in 1962. The following year, Archbishop Bryan J. McEntegart consecrated the Congress St. retreat house, known then as the Casa de Cursillos, for use by the movement.
Through the years, hundreds of Cursillo retreats and thousands of meetings were held at the center, which the diocese closed earlier this summer. The Cursillo Movement will continue its ministry from its new home base, St. Michael-St. Malachy parish, East New York, starting in September.
In his homily, Bishop Caggiano offered support to Cursillistas as they begin a fresh chapter in their movement’s history. He encouraged them to continue proclaiming the Truth and living the mission of evangelization in their new home.
He gave thanks to God for the movement’s members, “for what you do and the wonderful people you are,” and especially Msgr. Vazquez, who has been “a faithful and wonderful priest for many years.”
“I pray the Lord blesses you with every grace and blessing for many years to come,” the bishop said.
The evening was emotional for Nelly Gutierrez, lay leader of the movement, who noted that the walk honors the Spanish roots of the movement, which began with a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James; the saints they strive to emulate; and the movement’s future in Brooklyn and Queens.
“We are going to St. Michael-St. Malachy for the well-being of the movement,” she said. “Wherever we go, Jesus Christ is with us. We are always going to be De Colores.”