Starting their day off with Mass celebrated by two bishops and more than a dozen priests, Catholic West Indians took their place in Brooklyn’s annual Carnival Parade wearing matching red shirts and beaming with God’s love. The festival, held on Labor Day, extended along a two-mile stretch of Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.
“I’ve been a Catholic all my life, and I’m proud of my faith,” said Sharon Roberts as she displayed the Vatican flag at the front of the diocesan delegation. “It’s good to let people know that you are American West Indian and you are proud of that.”
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Victor Antoine, from St. Martin de Porres parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, volunteered as a parade marshal to help keep the group together during the parade.
“We have to show that we are here for the right reason,” he said. “The devil doesn’t take a day off; we don’t take a day off. … I believe that there is enough of us for that.”
Antoine said he was saddened by the news that there had been a fatal shooting near the parade route overnight, but he said there is much good among the hundreds of thousands of people who show up for the march each year.
Father Frank Black, pastor of St. Mathew’s parish, Crown Heights, hosted the West Indian Labor Day Mass with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio as the main celebrant.
He said he realized the benefits of attending the parade right after the first time he hosted, “when people on the street stopped me and said: ‘Father, pray with me.’”
Father Black, who was born in Jamaica, said that although not all Western Indians are Catholic, they tend to look to the Church for guidance and aid. When the Church participates in the parade, he said it reminds people of their heritage.
“It’s a reminder that we are first and foremost a people of faith,” he said.
Bishop DiMarzio, who participates each year to pray and march with his Western Indian flock, called the parade a sort of pilgrimage.
He said praying before and during the parade can have a powerful effect by bringing people closer to “Jesus Christ, who we reveal to the world through our prayers.”
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq, a native of Haiti, who also marches every year, concelebrated the Mass. Father Patrick Keating, CEO of the Diocesan Migration Office, also participated.
“We bring a dimension of prayer,” Bishop Sansaricq said. “We participate in the feast.”
Father Dwayne Davis, a native of Jamaica, preached the homily. He started by recalling how his grandmother would begin every day by giving praise to God through song: “I have my mind made up, and I won’t go back.”
He invited the congregation to sing this song, and they responded with enthusiasm.
He also thanked the congregation, many of whom have known him and supported him through his youth .
“Thank you for praying me through the seminary,” he said. But he also challenged them to never falter in their love for God.
“It seems to me that when we come to the land of the free, we forget the One who has made us free!” he said. “When we live authentic lives, others will follow. When we live authentic lives, holiness can happen.”
He reminded them of the day’s goal as they participated in one of the city’s liveliest parades: “We come to show the world that yes, we are Caribbean and we know how to praise the Lord!”
Cynthia Gariy, a parishioner of St. Matthew’s who was born in Grenada, said she was thankful that so many of the clergy came out to celebrate Mass.
“When I saw two bishops, I felt so good, so happy,” she said. “So many of our Catholic priests were there. Now we are one family.”
The group representing the Diocese of Brooklyn marched among vivid costumes and floats representing the diverse groups in the West Indian community, including politicians, banks, schools and civil service employees.
