PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Edith Areizaga, a member of the Mexican Apostolate in the Diocese of Brooklyn, sat in a front pew in the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph awaiting the start of the Migration Day Mass with excitement and anticipation.
It had been a long time since the diocese gathered its ethnic apostolates — there are more than 25 of them — together to celebrate the Migration Day Mass, celebrated this year on Feb. 14.
The Migration Day Mass, a decades-old diocesan tradition celebrating cultural diversity and the contributions of immigrants, was last celebrated in 2019. It was paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic until Bishop Robert Brennan revived it this year.
Areizaga said she was happy to be there.
“I was here before COVID,” said Areizaga, a parishioner of St. Brendan Church in Midwood. “It’s nice that this Mass is coming back.”
The Mass, which began with a procession of apostolates who wore native dress and carried banners, was taking place at the right time, given the “current problems” in the U.S., including the “enforcement of immigration laws,” said Bishop Brennan. He added that he was concerned about heated rhetoric on both sides of the political aisle.
In his homily, he noted that Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio urged a return of the Migration Day Mass. “Part of our response has to be prayer,” Bishop Brennan said. “We should pray with and for each other.”
Areizaga agreed that the timing of this year’s Mass was significant, given what is taking place on the streets of New York and other cities, including the arrests of immigrants by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I think it’s great that everyone is integrating into this beautiful celebration, especially with the hard times we are dealing with,” she said. “It’s a nice way to give back to those who are facing challenges.”
Father Patrick Longalong, associate vicar for Migrant and Ethnic Apostolates in the diocese, said it’s important to go past politics.
“When we see migrants,” he said, “we see people. We see families.”
At its core, the Migration Day Mass is a joyful celebration of the different nationalities making up the “Diocese of Immigrants,” said Father Patrick Keating, rector of the co-cathedral and moderator of the Curia for the diocese.
RELATED: Invoking Mother Cabrini, Bishops Call For ‘Christian Charity’ on Immigration
“The Diocese of Brooklyn, since its founding in 1853, has had so many immigrants.
But we’re united in our faith in Jesus Christ,” he said.
Bishop Brennan noted that of the 5 million people living in Brooklyn and Queens, more than 2 million are immigrants.
“This is who we are,” he said. “This is who we have always been.”