Bishop Robert Brennan announced on Oct. 14 the removal from ministry of Deacon Danny Rodriguez, who most recently served at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Sunset Park, in the wake of an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor that took place approximately 20 years ago — an allegation that the Diocese of Brooklyn deemed to be credible.
Fourteen-year-old Logan Juntereal is a parishioner at St. Nicholas of Tolentine in Jamaica, but made the trip to celebrate Mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bayside to celebrate the establishment of the Diocesan Shrine of Saint Carlo Acutis in the parish. He shared his excitement for the day and expressed his admiration for St. Carlo Acutis, who he called a modern-day embodiment of what it means to be a “true person” faithful to the Catholic church.
Father Carlos Velásquez, pastor of St. Brigid Parish in Bushwick, has been appointed the new director of liturgy for the Diocese of Brooklyn. Inspired by the beauty of the Mass since childhood, he hopes to ensure that the diocese’s diverse celebrations of worship — offered in nearly 30 languages — reflect the reverence and unity of Catholic liturgy.
Brooklyn parishioners mourn Nicola Tanzi, a beloved usher and man of faith, whose final act of kindness led to his tragic death in a random attack.
Vanessa Doneys-Cunalata, whose son is in the first grade at St. Athanasius Catholic Academy, is one of more than a dozen donors taking part in the academy’s new “Adopt A Classroom” fundraiser. Through the initiative, benefactors gain naming rights to a classroom.
Nearly 100 years ago, José Luis Sánchez del Río joined the “Cristero” rebellion in Mexico to resist the government’s crackdown on Catholics. He lost his life, but gained sainthood.
Bishop Robert Brennan is encouraging Catholics to read Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, which “encourages us and challenges us to be attentive, to see the needs of the poor and those who are suffering, and to respond with love.”
Two friends who made a pact to visit every Catholic Church in Brooklyn completed their mission two years and 109 churches later on Oct. 5, and said they came away from their journey with a stronger faith and a more profound love of humanity.
Ralph Taverniti, 91, was an apprentice tailor in his early 20s, but his future was bleak as his Italian homeland struggled to rebuild from the carnage of World War II. Opportunity awaited in Brooklyn, where his father’s uncle, also a tailor, offered work. So, in 1956 Taverniti booked third-class passage to New York City on a new luxury ocean liner, the SS Andrea Doria.
The Diocese of Brooklyn, often referred to as the “Diocese of Immigrants,” has a history spanning more than 100 years of serving the spiritual needs of Spanish-speaking Catholics — and serving them in their native language.
