Cool Start to 2014

Moms and children from Sacred Heart parish, Bayside, take a break from sled riding in Crocheron Park. Schools were closed Jan. 3 as nearly a foot of snow fell on the metropolitan area as temperatures plummeted to single digits with wind chills below zero.

Transitioning To Stability – Nonprofit Helps Homeless Rebuild Resumes and Lives

by Ambria Hammel PHOENIX (CNS) – The new year will be a brighter beginning for Terrance Alston. The 49-year-old, who spent enough years on the streets, is now fixing up his own home and mending family bonds. He attended his first big family dinner in 20-something years over Christmas, just days after moving from Phoenix […]

Restoring an Image

EverGreene’s chief conservator, Gillian Randell, cleans the face of the Heavenly Father in one of 13 historic murals on the ceilings and walls of St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral, Prospect Heights. Before restoration began the figures and rich decoration could hardly be deciphered. The restored murals are now a distinctive feature of St. Joseph’s, which is set […]

Presepio: Italian Tradition Tells the Christmas Story (with slideshow)

The Christmas season is a time known for its traditions, from putting up lights and stockings, to singing carols and of course displaying a Christmas tree. But there’s a tradition that lives on today that has been passed on from generation to generation: the construction of a presepio, a Nativity scene depicting the birth of […]

St. Anthony’s Relics – Back in the Diocese by Popular Demand

by Marie Elena Giossi Local devotees of St. Anthony of Padua received a special gift this Advent – the opportunity to see and venerate relics of their beloved saint. As part of a world tour marking the 750th anniversary of the discovery of St. Anthony’s remains by St. Bonaventure, the relics have visited England, Ireland, […]

Bensonhurst Show Goes On! (with slideshow)

Despite a winter storm, St. Athanasius Church, Bensonhurst, went ahead with its Winter Wonderland extravaganza Dec. 14. The Choir from St. A’s performed prior to Mass and afterward outside the church.  

Christmas Lights – They Remind Us That Jesus Is The Light of the World

by Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The lights glowing on the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square, like Christmas lights everywhere, are reminders that Jesus is the light of the world, Pope Francis said. While he did not attend the Vatican’s tree-lighting ceremony Dec. 13, the pope personally thanked the German donors and their […]

Dyker Heights School Spreads Christmas Spirit – Our Lady of Guadalupe Continues Tradition of Gift-Giving

Joined together in prayer and song, the school community of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dyker Heights, recently celebrated its decades-old Christmas Gift-Giving Day tradition. Sponsored by the Student Council, the annual program encourages students and faculty to provide gifts of toys and clothing to children ranging from newborns to teenagers at two Brooklyn parishes: Our […]

St. Nick in Long Island City

Members of the Ravenswood Lions Club hosted a Christmas party for the young people of St. Mary’s religious education program, Long Island City. The party included gifts, treats and a visit from Santa Claus. One child, after watching a movie about St. Nicholas and seeing Santa, joyfully said, “I do believe in Santa, he is a […]