The Ecuadorian community celebrated its annual festivities in honor of “El Senor de Jerusalén” at Corpus Christi Church, Woodside. Parishioners dressed in their native clothing, dance groups, children and women with floral arrangements accompanied the image of “El Senor de Jerusalén” in procession to the church, where Mass was celebrated by Father Juan Ruiz, assisted at the altar by Deacon Juan Zhagnay.

Photo © Gonzalo Chachas

St. Sebastian’s Church, Woodside, hosted its 23rd annual celebration of the Santo Nino of Cebu. It takes place on the third Sunday in January and commemorates the statue given to the Queen of the Philippines by explorer Ferdinand Magellan upon her conversion to Christianity. At left, Msgr. Michael Hardiman, pastor, was the main celebrant of the liturgy.

Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, Windsor Terrace, recently hosted its seventh annual “Celebrating the Past; Building the Future” dinner dance at El Caribe, Mill Basin. The parish marked its 119-year history and the formation of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Academy, created through the union of Immaculate Heart of Mary and Holy Name of Jesus schools. Above, Father Robert Adamo, pastor, third from left, honored individuals for their service to the parish. They are, from left, Brother Ralph Darmento, F.S.C.; Diane DeBernardo ’80; Mary DeBernardo ’79; and Christopher and Maribeth Dono. (Photo © Jim Mancari)

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About one in eight U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can work for a cure by supporting the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. The walk is Oct. 21 in Brooklyn at The Nethermead in Prospect Park, and in Queens at Flushing Meadows Park. To participate as a walker or volunteer, or to make a donation, visit http://makingstrides.acsevents.org. If you can’t walk, volunteer or make a donation, consider wearing a pink ribbon or pink flamingo to raise awareness about the disease. Every little bit counts.

The Mount Carmel Theatre Company (MCTC) presents Frankenstein, A New Musical, this weekend, Oct. 19-20, 8 p.m., and Oct. 21, 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Williamsburg. For show tickets, visit www.mctheatrecompany.org.

This Saturday, Oct. 20, the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth will host Project Miriam at Presentation  of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish, Jamaica. Religious Sisters from various communities will be present to discuss the types of religious life. This opportunity is open to unmarried women, ages 17-45. Arrive by 10 a.m. for prayer, reflection, conversation and light refreshments. For more information, contact Lisa Amore, 718-827-2454 or lamore@diobrook.org.

And this Sunday, Oct. 21, the World Youth Alliance is hosting a 5K Run for Dignity at 10 a.m. on Roosevelt Island. Show your support for promoting human dignity in policy and in culture. Online registration is $20 and race-day registration is $25. Run for Dignity T-shirt included with registration. For more details, go to http://www.wya.net/regions/northamerica/emergingleadersconference.html#5K_Run.

Tablet TALK Quote of the Week: “A good word is like a good tree whose root is firmly fixed and whose top is in the sky.” — The Quran

It is the end of an era at St. Teresa’s Church, Woodside. The Rosary Society held its final meeting on Oct. 1, the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux. Society ladies gathered for a prayer service and to recite the rosary together one last time before disbanding due to declining numbers.

State Senator Marty Golden will host a Cardiac Health and Stroke Prevention Symposium, in conjunction with Maimonides Medical Center, on Monday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m. at SS. Simon and Jude parish, Gravesend. Speakers include Dr. Razvan Buciuc, Chief of Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology; Dr. Robert Rhee, Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery; Dr. Greg Ribakove, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery; and Dr. Steven Rudolph, Director of Stroke Medicine.

Congratulations to Mary Czaplinska, a parishioner of St. Stanislaus Kostka, Greenpoint, who entered the cloister of the Carmelite Sisters in Morristown, N.J. on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Mother, Sept. 8. Join the St. Stanislaus Kostka parish community in praying for Mary so that her calling to contemplative life as a Carmelite Sister always blossoms and bears spiritual fruit.

The parish of St. Luke, Whitestone, recently completed the installation of the Dominican Sisters of Amityville Playground, a new outdoor play area for students of the parish school. Featured in the new space is a bluestone grotto with a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette. Stone markers are still available for honoring or memorializing loved ones. To learn more, call the rectory, 718-746-8102.

Celebrate Thanksgiving a little early this year by attending a Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend in Bay Shore, L.I., Nov. 2-4. Give thanks for your spouse by taking a closer look at your marriage, learn new communication techniques and nurture the love you share away from the everyday routines and distractions. To learn more, call 1-877-697-9963 or e-mail marriageencounterbq@gmail.com.

This week’s Tip of the Tablet TALK Top Hat goes to the Hispanic and Polish communities of St. Matthias parish, Ridgewood. The Hispanic Community donated $800 from the proceeds of its recent flea market to the parish. The Polish Community donated $500 to the parish for the Pulaski Marshal Ball. Hats off to both groups for setting a great example!

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Members of Archbishop John Hughes Knights of Columbus Council No. 481 had the honor of marching at the 68th annual Columbus Day Parade along Manhattan’s Fifth Ave. This was a first for the Dyker Heights-based council. As they marched, council members handed out prayer cards for the Venerable Father Michael McGivney and for Pope Benedict XVI. Holding the banner, above, from left, Knights Paul Esposito, Bob Romano, Dan Morgan, Father Guy Sbordone associate chaplain, Frank Marzigliano, Frank DiMaria, Grand Knight Camillo Casano, Deputy Grand Knight Vincent Gentile and Dan Gambale. (Photo courtesy Camillo Anthony Casano)

Msgr. Michael Hardiman, pastor of St. Sebastian’s parish, Woodside, carries the monstrance during the traditional Corpus Christi street procession.

Top row, from left, James Carey, principal of Msgr. McClancy M.H.S., is seen with students from Corpus Christi, Jacqueline Hernandez, Stephanie Vasquez, Noelia Taveraz, Taylor Aybar, Allyson Vasquez; second row, Nathalie Lopez, Myya Cox, Paula Londano, Alyssa Colon, and Robert DiNardo, principal of Corpus Christi School; front row, Frank Caisaguano, Matthew Cruz, Vincent Torres, Matthews Avendano and Nicholas Vazquez.

When Bob DiNardo, principal of Corpus Christi School, Woodside, decided to introduce high school Spanish to his eighth-grade students, he only had to look a few blocks away to Msgr. McClancy M.H.S. to find a class.

“We now have 14 outstanding eighth graders taking ninth grade Spanish at Msgr. McClancy,” DiNardo said. “My students really like the class and their progress report indicates that they are all doing very well.”

Schedules for both schools had to be coordinated and it was decided that the Corpus Christi students would take Spanish during their last period and go home directly from the high school, which is located in East Elmhurst.

James P. Carey, principal of Msgr. McClancy, said he is pleased with the outcome of the collaboration.

“It is a pleasure working with Corpus Christi School and the students who attend our eighth period class,” Carey said. “They are well behaved and achieving academically. This program has been so successful that we will offer the class in the 2012-2013 school year to continue our partnership.”

DiNardo said the Spanish class was a natural outgrowth from the historically positive relationship between Corpus Christi and Msgr. McClancy. For example, high school students from McClancy tutor the older students at Corpus Christi; Corpus Christi conducts its Walkathon and Field Day at McClancy; one of the religious brothers from McClancy serves on the Advisory Board of Corpus Christi; students from McClancy and St. Agnes H.S., College Point, coordinated a Christmas Party for the younger children at Corpus Christi; and Corpus Christi ran an Integrated Algebra course after-school, which was graded by teachers at McClancy.

Msgr. McClancy, which is an all-boys school, is going co-ed next year so the girls from Corpus Christi who are taking the Spanish class have the distinction of being the first girls to attend classes there, DiNardo said.

The collaboration between Corpus Christi and McClancy is one of many taking place between Catholic elementary schools and high schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Several Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn send students to St. Edmund Preparatory H.S., Sheepshead Bay, before school to take Regents-level high school classes in science and math; eighth graders from local Catholic elementary schools take Integrated Algebra I and an interdisciplinary humanities course from Bishop Ford H.S., Park Slope; and eighth graders from seven Catholic elementary schools in Queens meet after school to conduct experiments in the earth science labs at Holy Cross H.S., Flushing. Additional collaborations are being planned between other high schools and grammar schools in Brooklyn and Queens.

Dr. Thomas Chadzutko, Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn, praised the course offerings by Catholic high schools because it enables participating elementary schools to expand and enhance their school’s curriculum.

Ozone Park

Peace was the theme for the Sept. 9 opening Mass of the new school year at Divine Mercy Catholic Academy, Ozone Park. Father Paul Palmiotto, pastor, celebrated the Mass. He told students that peace begins with them and they can spread it to the world. The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was remembered during the Prayers of the Faithful. Students processed outside to Nativity B.V.M. Church’s 9/11 memorial towers, where flowers were placed, prayers offered and “God Bless America” was sung. Each class presented a dove inscribed with prayers and wishes for peace. These “peace doves” were carried into church and then placed on the school fence facing the memorial.

Bensonhurst

At St. Athanasius Church, Bensonhurst, Msgr. David Cassato, pastor and a chaplain to the NYC Police Dept., and the priests of the parish celebrated a Mass for the victims of the tragic events of 9/11. Following the liturgy, the pastor asked all members of the congregation extend their hands in blessing upon all first responders who attended. A candlelight procession was conducted to the parish’s 9/11 memorial outside the church where flowers were placed and prayers were recited. In his homily, Msgr. Cassato reminded participants that “We never, never, never forget but we move on. Nothing can deter us from living our lives in justice, decency and peace. Today, many people in this city are suffering. Let us pray for the rebuilding of strength to go on and follow the way of Jesus.”

Bay Ridge

At Our Lady of Angels parish, Bay Ridge, a man and his dog stopped by for a silent prayer at the 9/11 memorial in the parish’s Flower Pot Yard. The memorial is a piece of steel from the World Trade Center that is bent in the shape of a cross.

Woodside

“The Flight of the Sparrow: A Remembrance” was performed before an audience of 300 in St. Sebastian Church, Woodside, on Sept. 11. The play is set in 2011 and consists of a series of monologues given by peoples whose lives were changed by the events of 9/11 with musical interludes performed by the choirs of St. Sebastian. The writer and director of “The Sparrow” is Mary Frances Grace, director of music ministries at St. Sebastian parish.

Father James Cunningham, administrator of Holy Name parish, Park Slope, placed floral displays and led prayers at the parish memorial outside the church in memory of the victims of 9/11. Parish buildings were draped with American flags.