Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving at Regina Pacis Basilica, Bensonhurst, to welcome the Chinese New Year 4711, the Year of the Water Snake. The bishop told the community that a New Year is a time to look back and examine consciences so that improvements can be made in one’s spiritual life. Reflecting on the second reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, the bishop said, “Without love, all the examples of religious fervor mean nothing.” Following the liturgy, a social was held in the parish center during which Bishop DiMarzio handed out traditional red envelopes to children as a sign of prosperity in the New Year. Cultural music and dances were performed. Bishop DiMarzio used the occasion to announce that in the spring he would visit Hong Kong and mainland China to experience firsthand the life of the Church there and to coordinate pastoral care services for Chinese immigrants to Brooklyn and Queens. He also announced that Msgr. Ronald Marino, pastor of St. Rosalia-Regina Pacis, has been appointed to a second term as head of the parish and that he also has been named the first rector of the newly dedicated Regina Pacis Basilica.