FOREST HILLS — Hundreds gathered on March 22 at the namesake Church of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in the Diocese of Brooklyn to commemorate Christian martyrs and pray for those persecuted for their faith around the world. 

“To me, it made sense to have this theme at this particular time of the year,” Father Francis Passenant, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, where the Mass was celebrated, told The Tablet. “Next week we’re going into Palm Sunday and Holy Week, where there’s a lot of services, a lot of time in church. Imagine trying to do this with a fear of arrest, a fear of discrimination, or persecution. 

“They certainly do need our thoughts and prayers.” 

The Mass was celebrated for the annual Aid to the Church in Need Courage in Faith week, an international initiative of prayer and solidarity with persecuted Christians around the world, held the week before Palm Sunday. 

Bishop Brennan was the celebrant and chose Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church as the location, linking the theme to the church’s patroness. 

“It’s sad that people can’t worship their faith without recrimination, but they have such a great devotion to our Lord and to the liturgies of the Church that they’re willing to put their lives on the line, truly having the courage to give their life for the faith,” Father Passenant said. “And the Queen of Martyrs, she’s the one who protects them, and hopefully they will receive those graces and courage to continue.” 

Also on March 22, Archbishop Ronald Hicks celebrated the annual Courage in Faith Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was the first time that both ordinary bishops of New York City celebrated the Mass on the same day, according to Edward Clancy, the director of Outreach of ACN. 

“It was an honor to have both bishops of the city of New York on that day to honor Christians who died,” Clancy told The Tablet. “It is our hope that it becomes a regular [practice] within the dioceses and hopefully expands beyond New York City — that we have a day and a week where, as Christians, we honor those who died.” 

Clancy noted Archbishop Hicks’ ties to El Salvador, where he led an orphanage that cares for more than 3,400 orphaned and abandoned children. 

“In the same way, we can look to Pope Leo, who served in Peru; both of them were in countries where Aid to the Church in Need is actively working to help sustain the pastoral Church,” he explained. “Pope Leo has brought certain aspects of our work to the Vatican and now Archbishop Hicks [to New York].”

At the St. Patrick’s Mass, Clancy carried in procession a large icon of Our Lady of Refuge, which he described as a “symbol — a remembrance” of the persecution taking place worldwide. The icon was also present at the Mass in the Diocese of Brooklyn.   

Bishop Brennan, speaking at the beginning of the Mass celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, noted the importance of remembering martyrs of the faith. 

“We recall the persecuted Church. We think of the martyrs, even the martyrs in the last year,” Bishop Brennan said. “It’s such an important thing, as we get ready to walk the road to Calvary with Jesus, to think of those who are bearing the cross right here and now in our own day and time.”