As part of the national Public Broadcast Service (PBS) series “The Italian Americans,” Ch. 13, WLIW21 and NJTV will present “Italian Americans of New York and New Jersey,” a documentary that spotlights the lives, achievements and rich culture of Italian Americans in the metro area.

The two-part series focuses on the largest Italian-American population in the nation, featuring interviews with historians and prominent local Italian Americans, including two representatives of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Then-Auxiliary Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, now Bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., shared the experience of being an Italian descendant, celebrating the traditions, the culture and the Catholic faith in a foreign land.

The series strongly focused on the identities of the Italians as being Catholic. John Heyer, development officer for the Diocese of Brooklyn, and a parishioner of Sacred Hearts-St. Stephen parish, Carroll Gardens, shared archives and historic photos of the oldest Italian parish in the diocese. “The immigrants could not bring much with them, but what they were able to bring was their faith, which gave them the strength to build a new life in America,” said Heyer.

The series will air on Tuesdays, Feb. 17 and 24 at 8 p.m. on Ch. 13; Sundays, Feb. 15 and 22 at 9 p.m. on Ch. 21; and on Thursdays, Feb. 26 and March 5 at 8 p.m. on NJTV.