Joe Lewinger, Assistant Principal of Student Life at The Mary Louis Academy in Queens, died late in the evening of March 28 from complications of the coronavirus. He was 42 years old.
Diocesan News
Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay, First Catholic Priest in US to Die of Coronavirus
Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay, pastor of St. Brigid’s parish in Wyckoff Heights, Brooklyn, died of coronavirus this Friday.
Statement From the Diocese of Brooklyn: NET-TV’s Currents News Special Report of Extraordinary Papal Blessing at 12:45 p.m.
Friday, March 27, 2020, at 1 p.m. EST, Pope Francis will offer prayers and an extraordinary “Urbi et Orbi” Blessing for the world’s Catholics. The Holy Father stated, “I invite everyone to participate spiritually through the means of communication.”
Isolated, But Not Alone: The Diocese Goes Viral
Father Michael Louis Gelfant, the pastor of Blessed Trinity Parish in Rockaway Point, streamed the hoisting of an Italian flag in honor of St. Joseph’s Day. He joked that, “It is the first time in the history of the parish, the Italian flag flies.”
Church Alone: Streaming Faith Solo
While priests are unable to celebrate Mass publicly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are finding creative ways to serve their Catholic communities.
Faith Against Fear: Priest Offers Advice
At a time when our lives are looking more and more like a Google calendar packed with live streamed Masses, online classes and work from home, stresses — and separation anxiety — are at an all-time high.
Nowhere Is Safe for Homeless and Poor: Crisis Poses Unique Threat
For nearly half a century, the Brooklyn-based soup kitchen, Community Help in Park Slope, Inc. (CHiPS) has served more than 300 daily meals to clients in the neighborhood without charging a dime. But, on March 19, it too succumbed to the coronavirus crisis, serving its last plate until further notice.
Bishop DiMarzio Encourages the Faithful to Pray the Rosary
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio released a video on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25, when the Church celebrates the Archangel Gabriel’s apparition to the Virgin Mary to tell her that she was to be the Mother of God.
Bishop DiMarzio Encourages Spiritual Communion During Time of Isolation
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio released a video on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 22, for the Brooklyn and Queens faithful. This message from the bishop was released just one day after four new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the diocese.
Four More Coronavirus Cases Confirmed at Diocese of Brooklyn Churches
Four more confirmed coronavirus cases related to the diocese of Brooklyn and Queen’s churches were announced March 21.