It’s graduation season, and 72 new lay ministers from 27 parishes in the diocese completed the three-year ministry preparation program.
Diocesan News
Family Is Still Key to Human Development
Calling family “indispensable and irreplaceable” in human development, a high-ranking Vatican official called for a “renewal of family models” when he spoke at the U.N. in Manhattan earlier this month.
Priests Are Marking Their 65th, 60th Anniversaries
Also celebrating significant anniversaries this year are four priests who are marking their 65th years as priests and six who are 60 years ordained. Ordained 65 years are: Msgr. Austin Bennett, special assistant to the bishop and a resident of St. Thomas Aquinas rectory, Flatlands; Father Francis J. Labita, who lives at Bishop Mugavero Residence, […]
Silver Jubilarians – Eight Diocesan Priests Have Been Serving for 25 Years
Father Richard J. Bretone, parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s, Bay Ridge, since 2011, will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving at the church on Saturday, May 31, at 5 p.m. A reception will follow in the auditorium. The theme for the reception will be a barn dance as a fundraiser for Father Bretone’s upstate N.Y. retreat […]
Celebrating Jubilees in Priesthood
At the annual Chrism Mass celebrated during Holy Week, priests who are marking significant anniversaries of their ordinations as priests were invited to concelebrate with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. From left are Msgr. Nicholas Sivillo, 50 years; Msgr. Austin Bennett, 65 years; and Msgr. John Casey, 60 years.
Golden Jubilarians – Six Diocesan Priests Marking 50th Year in Priesthood
Msgr. Martin T. Geraghty, pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine, Bayside, since 2006, will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving at the Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, this fall. Born in Brooklyn, he attended Cathedral College; St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore; and North American College, Rome. He was ordained Dec. 16, 1964 at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, by Bishop Francis F. Reh.
Mass of the Neophytes
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated the Mass of the Neophytes with some of the catechumens and candidates for sacraments who joined the Catholic Church this past Easter. The Mass was held Tuesday, May 6 at St. James Cathedral-Basilica in Downtown Brooklyn. About 250 people attended.
Howard Beach Students Learn Math Can Be Fun
Ave Maria Catholic Academy recently held its second annual Family Math Night. The two-hour event was attended by children and their parents from the K-8 school located in Howard Beach.“At Ave Maria, we work hard to ensure that our children have a strong foundation in the subjects that they will need to be successful in life,” said Anthony Russo, principal. “One way we do that is to make learning fun. Now that Common Core has been instituted, our teachers are implementing strategies to step up our math curriculum so that we meet and exceed parochial and public educational requirements.”
Local Moms Pray for Kids Around the World
“Politicians won’t change the world, mothers on their knees will,” says Marta Pope, coordinator of the Mothers In Prayer group in Queens. Every Wednesday at 10 a.m., mothers from Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, Astoria, gather to pray for children around the world. They offer the prayers in union with mothers in 118 countries who say the prayers in 40 different languages.
72 Parishioners Complete Lay Ministry Program
A bilingual liturgy and commissioning ceremony will be celebrated Monday, May 19, in the chapel at the Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, for those persons who have completed the requirements of the Lay Ministry Program, sponsored by the diocesan School of Evangelization/Pastoral Institute. The diocese will honor 72 persons who represent 27 parishes in Brooklyn and Queens. These commissioned lay pastoral leaders have completed a three-year program of study, spiritual reflection, mentoring and pastoral preparation. They join more than 750 others who have successfully completed the program, which is offered in both English and Spanish and has been in existence since 2001.