Throughout World War I, Catholics in the French village of Ban-de-Laveline had no pastor, because their priest was taken hostage by the Germans. But in 1918, a U.S. Army chaplain from Brooklyn came to bury 18 of his men killed in action, and a special bond formed between the village and a new parish in Jackson Heights, Queens.
When twins Connor and Joseph Kelly set out to raise funds to support the Catholic hospital that had done so much for their older sister, they knew just how they wanted to help: with an old-fashioned lemonade stand.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Father Louismary Ocha spent a lot of time Father Andrew Struzzieri, pastor of St. Clare Parish in Queens, who was terminally ill with cancer. Father Andy’s example is a pillar of priesthood that Father Ocha now shares with his seminarian students back home in Nigeria.
COVID-19 travel restrictions prevent a seminarian studying in Rome from enjoying Thanksgiving with his parents back in Jackson Heights, Queens, where his dad is a deacon at St. Joan of Arc Parish. But they’ll push through with digital technology and an unshakable family bond.
The Fitzgeralds, who are longtime residents of Jackson Heights, have been enrolling their kids at St. Joan of Arc since childhood. Today, three members of the family are giving back to the place that raised and loved them — as teachers.
On any given Sunday, observing the Sabbath is a choice. For three Hispanic youth who have spent their formative teen years in the youth group at St. Joan of Arc parish, Jackson Heights, they freely choose to attend Mass.
Maria Chiriboga, the mother of Deacon Paolo Salazar, a permanent deacon serving at St. Joan of Arc parish, Jackson Heights, died Nov. 8 at her home.
Five priests of the Brooklyn Diocese are observing their 60th year of priesthood. They were ordained May 31, 1958 by Bishop Bryan J. McEntegart at St. James Pro-Cathedral in Downtown Brooklyn.
It’s incredibly rare for two cross-country runners to finish with the exact same time in a race. It’s even more unusual for those two runners to be teammates. The only thing potentially even more outlandish than the above scenario would be if those same two runners to be twins. Well, believe it or not, it happened.
When Pope Francis addressed the Colombian people during a prayer meeting in Villavicencio, he told them that with the help of Christ alive in the midst of the community, it is possible to conquer hatred and death. He told them it was possible to begin again and usher in a new Colombia, despite more than 50 years of civil war.
