Parish bereavement facilitators and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist recently attended workshops sponsored by the Bereavement Services Office of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ). Brooklynites met at St. Boniface Church, Downtown Brooklyn, while Queens residents gathered at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Astoria, to discuss best pastoral practices for helping people in grief. Register now for CCBQ’s bereavement conference, “Journey to Healing: End of Life Conversations and the Catholic Perspective,” at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, Nov. 7. The event is free, but registration is required. Call 718-722-6214 or email april.boone@ccbq.org (Photo courtesy April Boone)
Auxiliary Bishop Witold Mroziewski will preside over a prayer service for vocations at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, Ridgewood, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.
As part of the bishop’s visit, he will bless the parish’s John Paul II Faith Formation and Catechesis Center. Local Confirmation students will attend. All are welcome. For further details, call 718-366-3360.
There is something special about socks. They make us feel cozy, warm and safe. That’s why local Sisters of Mercy and their associates are collecting new socks to benefit veterans in St. Albans. The drive is already underway and runs through Dec. 15. Could you help with this effort? Every pair of socks counts. Donations may be brought to the Sisters of Mercy Convent, 22-04 Parsons Blvd. in Whitestone, or to St. Matthias Rectory, Ridgewood (attention Louise Simon or Bob Lohrey).
St. Teresa Church, Woodside, observed the feast of its patroness with the unveiling and blessing of a stained-glass window of St. Therese of Lisieux, which now hangs in the church sanctuary. The bottom of the window, which once hung in a now-closed Catholic high school in the New York Archdiocese, reads “St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus.” The parish is grateful for its newest addition.
Park Slope residents have reason to rejoice! St. Saviour Church is celebrating 110 years in the community on Friday, Oct. 23. Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Picnic House in Prospect Park. All are invited to enjoy cocktails, a live auction, music and dancing. Tickets are $150 each. For tickets, call 718-768-4055.
Save the date! Father Charles and Laurie Mangano will present a Night of Recollection, featuring song, Scripture and personal reflection at Transfiguration Church in Maspeth on Nov. 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. Call 718-326-2236.
Cara Bloncourt, a proud parishioner of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Springfield Gardens, is proud to report that her parish placed a new cornerstone this summer. The stone is engraved with the year 2016, when the church is anticipated to be completed. Almost five years ago, the wooden frame church burned in a fire. The foundation for the new church has been laid and parishioners eagerly await the completion of the new church building.
In honor of the Year of Consecrated Life, the first seven religious communities who came to Brooklyn from the 1820s through the 1850s will be honored at the 11 a.m. Mass at St. James Cathedral in Downtown Brooklyn, Oct. 25. A recognition ceremony will take place at the end of Mass for those original groups, and a reception will follow in the pavilion.
Bishop José Araneta Cabantan of Malaybalay, Philippines, joined the faithful of Brooklyn and Queens to celebrate the feast of St. Lorenzo Ruiz at St. Mary, Mother of Jesus Church, Bensonhurst. Bishop Cabantan, back, center, is pictured with members of the Filipino Diocesan Music Ministry and Father Patrick Longalong, diocesan coordinator of ministry to Filipino immigrants. (Photo courtesy Cecille Capiral-Matela)
