Although the Catholic Church has been celebrating the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8 as a dogma for almost 170 years, and its tradition goes back much further in Church history, it turns out there is still confusion over what the solemnity is about.
Our Lady of Mercy Church in Forest Hills marked the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception by dedicating two new statues of the Blessed Mother and St. Therese, the Little Flower. The new statues replace statues destroyed by a vandal.
About 1,500 pilgrims from Bridgeport boarded buses for the one-day trip to Washington; the other 500 came on their own. Pilgrims talked about the experience in tweets and in Facebook postings. “We’ve made it to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception! Positively joyful atmosphere here!” one person said in a Facebook post.
Starting in September, parishioners throughout Brooklyn and Queens will experience a comprehensive process of evangelization and spiritual renewal through RENEW International’s ARISE Together in Christ/LEVÁNTATE Unámonos en Cristo/LEVE KANPE ak Jezi Kri.
