1918 Headlines Tell of Battle Against Spanish Flu

When Father Jorge Ortiz died March 27, it wasn’t the first time that death visited the Diocese of Brooklyn during a pandemic. A perusal of the headlines from the 1918 editions of The Tablet reveals that the Spanish Flu of that year hit the church here in unexpected and dramatic ways.

The ‘Mass’ Appeal of Livestreaming

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Diocese of Brooklyn to come up with interesting and creative ways for church pastors and parishioners to stay in touch. With no public celebrations of the Eucharist taking place, parishes are employing a 21st Century solution to the sense of isolation brought about by social distancing.

Emergency Task Force A Mission of Faith

Three weeks ago, Vincent LeVien’s day-to-day activities looked much different than they do right now. Taking a phone call from the streets of New York City with sirens blaring in the distance, on a Friday afternoon he is already in the thick of delivering personal protective equipment (PPE) to doctors, nurses, FDNY, EMS and police forces across the New York metropolitan area.

Chrism Mass Postponed

The Diocese of Brooklyn announced Friday that the Chrism Mass this year will be celebrated on June 19, 2020, at 7:30 PM, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, depending on circumstances at that time.

Driven By Pandemic, U.S. Church Hits the Online Superhighway

When Pope Francis told the Vatican’s communications department in 2017 the digital world should be a primary vehicle for spreading the gospel, he certainly couldn’t have predicted a global pandemic that would leave the online realm as one of the only means for doing so.

Coronavirus Draws Prayers to Saints Who Cared for Plague Victims

Saints can get a bad rap because sometimes people assume they lived in deep piety removed from the burdens of everyday life. But a quick look at the saints known for their ministry to the poor and outcast, the sick and dying, particularly during times of plagues, casts these men and women in a different light.