When Lena Horne died on May 9, 2010, at the age of 92, she was revered as one of the most important women of the 20th century. And it all started in the Diocese of Brooklyn for the award-winning singer, actress, and civil rights activist.
St. Peter Claver – Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn
Msgr. William Rodgers Made History as the First Black Priest Ordained in the Diocese of Brooklyn
In his 96 years of life, Msgr. William Rodgers could boast of numerous noteworthy achievements. He mastered multiple languages and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree at St. John’s University. But even more importantly, he was known as the first black priest ordained in the Diocese of Brooklyn — a distinction that made him proud. But he was humble about it.
Only In Print: A Blessed Visit to St. Peter Claver Church
Bishop Robert Brennan (above) celebrated the 11:30 a.m. Mass at St. Peter Claver Church, Bedford-Stuyvesant, on Sunday, February 27.
Only in Print: ‘No Color Line In Churches’
From humble beginnings in the parlors of dedicated laypeople, the diocese’s outreach to Black Catholics has become one of the largest and most vibrant ethnic ministries in the United States.
St. Peter Claver Church’s Centennial Celebration Marks 100 Years of Black Catholic Ministry in the Diocese
The year was 1917. America had just entered World War I. It was also a somber time in church history — black Catholics were not welcomed to worship within the same space as their white Catholic brothers and sisters.
Only in Print: Brooklyn Couple Recalls the Fight for Civil Rights in the ’60s
The turmoil on the streets in cities across the U.S. in reaction to the killing of George Floyd, an African-American man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis is reminding many older Americans of the unrest that took place at the height of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.
Msgr. Bernard Quinn’s Saintly Heart of Love
On the evening of June 18, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio will be presiding at a vespers in the chapel of Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, during which he will accept the findings of the diocesan investigation for the cause of the canonization of Msgr. Bernard John Quinn, who felt more comfortable when he was called “Father.”
Blessing of Turtles, Furs and Fins
For the third year in a row, St. Peter Claver Church, a worship site of St. Martin de Porres parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, hosted its blessing of the animals service in the church parking lot.
Father Sans Is Celebrating His 65th Year as a Priest
Father Pablo Sans, who lives at Our Lady of the Cenacle rectory in Richmond Hill, marked his 65th year as a priest on March 15.
A Filipino Fiesta with Little Jesus
A Filipino Fiesta with Little Jesus; St. Francis Catholic Singles; The Sisterhood of Catholic Women and Adolescents; The Sisters in Faith of St. Athanasius, Bensonhurst; Feast Day of St. John Bosco Bensonhurst Youth Cluster Style; Angelic Service