The lights finally came back on at the San Damiano Mission Catholic Church after nearly nine months when the pandemic began. Parishioners were welcomed back with masked smiles and open arms as Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio celebrated the reopening Mass, which took place on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
The 220 attendees also paid loving honor to the late Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay, who died in March of COVID-19.
There’s nothing like seeing children’s eyes open wide when they spot wrapped gifts underneath a decorated Christmas tree. Their sprint to the tree reminds one of previous Christmas Day mornings when Santa did get your letter and brought you everything on your list. But being with family while opening up those gifts is really what it’s all about, especially at Hour Children.
The past eight months of the pandemic have given many people the opportunity to try new hobbies and catch up on reading or binging on television. For Marlys Halbeisen, a 78-year-old grandmother from Wheat Ridge, Colo., she spent the time writing Christmas cards for U.S. military members overseas – 40,000 cards to be exact.
The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, like the rest of the New York arts community, had to reinvent its programming after closing to the public on March 12.
On Nov. 23, Judge Wayne Ozzi of the New York State Supreme Court — Richmond County granted COVID-19 testing relief sought by Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York. The Archdiocese filed a lawsuit last month against the City’s Department of Education (DOE), stating that the DOE should legally provide the same health and testing resources for its students as it does for public school students (as required under Section 912 of the State Education Law).
As the first trimester of the school year comes to a close on Dec. 7, the 69 Catholic schools and academies across Brooklyn and Queens continue to go above and beyond for their communities. Children are still learning the fundamentals, while adhering to health and safety guidelines, through in-person learning or a hybrid learning model.
The Diocese of Brooklyn received a majority victory early Thanksgiving morning when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions on attendance at religious services violates the First Amendment.
Even during a global pandemic, the Daughters of St. Paul continue to spread God’s word through a newly launched podcast series and brick-and-mortar operations. Here in New York City, one can find a group of nuns prepping for the Advent and Christmas seasons in the Pauline Books and Media storefront.
On Nov. 18, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced New York City public school buildings would temporarily close and move to remote learning the following day. The percentage of citywide positive tests exactly hit three percent that morning, using a seven-day rolling average.
