“Habemus papam!” was the expression learned by the pre-kindergarten class at Our Lady of Hope School, Middle Village, as they celebrated the election of Pope Francis by creating their own white paper miters with the words: “God Bless Pope Francis,” under the direction of their teacher, Jennifer Basandella, center.

The Cursillo Movement is gearing up for its Diocesan Ultreya at Our Lady of Sorrows, Corona, on April 26, 7 p.m. All are welcome. For more details, call Alex Gonzalez, 646-773-9810, or Clara Rodriguez, 917-482-8904.

Celebrate life with The Bridge to Life, Flushing, at its 21st anniversary Gala Dinner Dance, April 21 at Leonard’s of Great Neck. This year’s honorees are two Knights of Columbus: Salvatore Restivo, state deputy of the N.Y.S. Council, and Martin Ryan, state Respect Life chairperson. Cocktails begin at 12:30 p.m. Dinner starts at 1:30 p.m. The deadline for purchasing tickets is April 9. For tickets, call 718-463-1810.

St. Vincent Ferrer parish in East Flatbush is marking its 90th anniversary with a special celebration at Glen Terrace Caterers, Mill Basin, on Friday, April 19. Get your dancing shoes ready because the party starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $100 per person. Past and present parishioners, clergy, school alumni and neighbors are welcome. For tickets and details, call the rectory at 718-859-9009.

Molloy College, Rockville Centre, is hosting its Spring Open House on April 28 at 1 p.m. For more information, call 516-678-5500 ext. 6230.

Tablet TALK Pick of the Week: Troupe Éclat celebrates its faith in the Risen Lord at the group’s 18th annual Easter Concert, this Sunday, April 7, 6:30 p.m. at St. Jerome Church, East Flatbush. The donation is $20. For more information, see the group’s Facebook page, or contact Mairy Letang at 347-866-6425 or Sherley Lamothe at 347-932-1165.

Auxiliary Bishop Frank Caggiano will give the keynote talk at an April 20 conference, Taking It to the Streets: The New Evangelization at Fordham University, Rose Hill. Sponsored by the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, this free event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Other speakers include Dr. Harold Horell and Father Claudio Burgaleta, S.J. The event is open to the public. To register, visit www.fordham.edu/gre or call Jodi Hunt, 718-817-5966.

After his talk at Fordham (see above), Bishop Caggiano is heading to Bay Ridge, where he will be the guest speaker at St. Patrick’s Men’s Club’s annual Communion Dinner, April 20 at Hunter’s Restaurant. Tickets are $50 and include dinner, beer and wine. Evening begins with 5 p.m. Mass. For tickets, call the rectory at 718-238-2600.

Support the Path of Literacy Walk-A-Thon, which benefits an adult literacy program for women sponsored by the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, on April 13, 1-3 p.m. at the Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse. All are welcome. For details, call Sister Kathleen Finan, O.P. at 631-842-7866.

Middle Village Children Enjoy an Egg-cellent Day

Baskets and bags in hand, children toddled and ran through the fragrant green grass collecting brightly colored eggs outside Christ the King R.H.S., Middle Village, which hosted its second annual Spring Festival and Easter Egg Hunt for community children last week. Little ones had the opportunity to meet and take pictures with the Easter Bunny, hop on inflatable bouncers, play games and devour sweet treats.

Sister Anne Gillen, O.P., a Sister of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 74 years, died Jan. 12. She was 92.

She attended St. Thomas the Apostle School, Woodhaven, and Dominican Juniorate, Water Mill, L.I.

She entered the congregation on Sept. 7, 1938. One year later, she received the habit and her religious name, Sister Thomas More.

She taught elementary school at Most Holy Trinity, Williamsburg, and Good Shepherd, Marine Park. On the secondary level she taught in St. Barbara H.S., Bushwick; the Dominican Juniorate, Water Mill; St. Agnes Academic H.S., College Point; and Queen of the Rosary Academy, Amityville.

She ministered as an office manager at the Rockville Centre Diocesan TV Center, Uniondale, L.I., 1969-1972; as the congregation’s public relations director, 1972-78; as an assistant in the congregation’s Communications Office, 1985-92; and as the Juniorate’s public relations director, 1992-95.

Her later years were spent in intercessory prayer at St. Catherine of Sienna Convent, Franklin Square, L.I., and Our Lady of Consolation Convent, Amityville, before moving to Carlin Hall in 2010.

She also served as a delegate in the congregation and was considered an expert in parliamentary procedure.

She is survived by her younger sister, Sister Rosemary Gillen, O.P.

Sister Edna Cooke, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 77 years, died Nov. 17. She was 96.
Raised in Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians parish, Woodside, she attended the Dominican Juniorate in Water Mill, L.I. She entered the congregation in 1935.
When she was invested with her habit, she received her religious name, Sister Mary Brendan. She pronounced her first vows on Aug. 18, 1936. She studied music at Manhattanville and Queens Colleges. 
She taught at St. Joseph School, Astoria, 1936-61; Dominican Commercial H.S., Jamaica, 1961-65; St. Agnes Cathedral H.S., Rockville Centre, 1965-68; and St. Agnes Academic H.S., College Point, 1968-71. 
From 1973 to 2006, she taught music at St. Francis Cabrini, Bath Beach; Our Lady of Solace, Coney Island; Annunciation, Williamsburg; American Martyrs, Bayside; Christ the King, Springfield Gardens; St. Margaret’s, Middle Village; Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village; St. Bartholomew, Elmhurst; Incarnation, Queens Village; and Notre Dame, New Hyde Park, L.I. Beside regular music lessons in the classroom, she was involved with school bands, orchestras, choirs and glee clubs. 
She is predeceased by her sister, Sister Regina Cooke, O.P., who died in 2003.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Nov. 21. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.

Sister Kathleen Thomas Steadman, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 56 years, died Nov. 11. She was 74.
Born in Jackson Heights as Marguerite, she entered the congregation from her home parish of St. Frances de Chantal in Wantagh, L.I., in 1956. She was invested and received her religious name the following year. She made her first profession of vows on Aug. 7, 1958.
She taught at St. Joseph’s School, Astoria, 1958-61; St. Margaret, Middle Village, 1961-63, St. Barbara’s, Bushwick, 1963-70; St. Thomas the Apostle, Woodhaven, 1970-72; and Most Holy Trinity, Williamsburg, 1972-77, before becoming involved in parish ministry at St. Sebastian, Woodside.
She resided in Corpus Christi, Woodside, 1972-74, and then St. Francis of Assisi Convent, Astoria, 1974-84.
She served as director of religious education in St. Michael’s, Flushing, 1980-95, and was part of Damascus Community in Middle Village, 1988-89. 
For several years, she ministered in Incarnation parish, Queens Village, and studied in Weston School of Theology in Massachusetts. In 1999, she was appointed as the congregation’s vocation director, a post she held until 2003. She also was parish receptionist at Sacred Heart, North Merrick, L.I., 2003-07.
In 2011, she retired, and failing health necessitated a move to the motherhouse. She is survived by her brother Martin of Garden City, L.I.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Nov. 15. Burial in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.

Sister Maria Victoria Aldea, O.P., 82, a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 60 years, died Oct. 18.
Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico as Maria Eulalia, she dropped out of school and cared for her seven younger siblings when their mother died. She became acquainted with the Dominican Sisters in Puerto Rico and entered the congregation from the Cathedral of San Juan, Caguas, in 1952.
On Aug. 4, 1953, she received the habit of St. Dominic and her religious name. One year later, on Aug. 7, 1954, she pronounced her religious vows.
She ministered both in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. She did domestic work in the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, 1954-55, and in Cathedral College, Brooklyn, 1955-59. Upon returning to Puerto Rico, she was stationed in Convento Santo Tomas, San Juan, 1959-62; Convento N.S. del Rosario, Vega Baja, 1962-67; Convento Santa Rosa, Bayamon, 1972-82; and Convento Santo Vincenzo Ferrer, Catano, 1981-86.
In 1986, she returned to serve as domestic assistant at the motherhouse in Amityville until 1999 when she retired.
Sister Maria Victoria was also an artist. Her depictions of San Juan are displayed in the congregation’s Heritage Center.
She is survived by four sisters, Georgina and Rafaela of Puerto Rico, Lydia of Alabama and Carmen of Yonkers, and two brothers, Carlos of Puerto Rico and Ernesto of Texas.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Oct. 22. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.

Sister Mary Aquinas Messer, O.P., a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 79 years, died Dec. 5. She was 98.
Born in Brooklyn, she grew up in Maryland and entered the congregation from Ascension parish, Halethorpe, Md., in 1933. She received the habit with her religious name the following year. On Aug. 26, 1935, she pronounced her religious vows.
She taught at 14 Holy Martyrs, Bushwick, 1935-37; St. Pancras, Glendale, 1937-42; Our Lady of Sorrows, Lower East Side, 1942-45; B.V.M. Help of Christians, Woodside, 1945-48; Dominican Commercial H.S., Jamaica, 1948-68.
In the evenings, she volunteered at the ESL Program at St. Pius V, Jamaica. She served at St. Agnes H.S., Rockville Centre, 1968-71, and then returned to Dominican Commercial, 1971-95, where she began her career as a guidance counselor. 
She retired from the formal school setting in 1995 but continued as a volunteer through 1998.  Failing health necessitated a move to Carlin Hall in 2004.
She is survived by relatives in Maryland as well as her nephew, Father Terry Messer of Newark, N.J. 
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Albert Chapel, Amityville, Dec. 7. Interment in the Sisters’ Cemetery followed.