Announcement of Death – Reverend Albert Bellantonio

Posted on November 27, 2024

Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, regrets to inform you of the death of Reverend Albert Bellantonio, a retired priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Father Bellantonio was born on January 10, 1942 in New York, was ordained to the Priesthood on May 31, 1969 and died Monday, November 25, 2024.

Father Bellantonio served the Diocese of Brooklyn as Pastor of the Parish of Our Lady of Solace (Brooklyn), Administrator of the Parish of Saint Rita (Brooklyn), and Parochial Vicar of the Parishes of Most Precious Blood (Brooklyn), Saint Bernadette (Brooklyn) and Saint Jerome (Brooklyn). Father Bellantonio also ministered at the Parishes of Saint Dominic (Brooklyn) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (Brooklyn) while in residence at Bishop Mugavero Residence (Douglaston).

The arrangements are as follows:

WAKE:
Immaculate Conception Center 7200 Douglaston Parkway Douglaston, New York 11362 Tel: (718) 229-8001
Friday, December 6, 2024
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

FUNERAL MASS:
Immaculate Conception Center
7200 Douglaston Parkway Douglaston, New York 11362 Tel: (718) 229-8001
Friday, December 6, 2024
11:00 AM

BURIAL:
Saint Charles Cemetery
Farmingdale, New York

Father Bellantonio was a member of the Priests’ Purgatorial Society.

Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his family and friends. May he rest in the peace of Christ, the Risen Lord.

If you wish to send condolences, please mail to his sister, Mrs. Mildred Maturando, 1640 Sherboune Road, Valley Stream, New York 11580.

Reverend Monsignor Steven J. Aguggia, J.C.L.
Chancellor and Vicar for Canonical Affairs

CURRENTS NEWS TO HIGHLIGHT FIRST MILLENNIAL SAINT: New Special Explores the Life, Miracles and Legacy of Blessed Carlo Acutis

Posted on November 13, 2024November 13, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 13, 2024

CURRENTS NEWS TO HIGHLIGHT FIRST MILLENNIAL SAINT

New Special Explores the Life, Miracles and Legacy of Blessed Carlo Acutis

NET-TV is announcing the premiere of a new special on the life and future sainthood of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Catholic Church’s teenage tech whiz nicknamed “God’s Influencer.” With the Jubilee Year about to begin, Blessed Carlo is expected to be proclaimed the first millennial saint in 2025. The special will air Friday, November 15, 2024 at 7 p.m. on Currents News.

Despite being more than 4,000 miles away from his Italian homeland, the Diocese of Brooklyn has created a special relationship with the “Saint in Sneakers.” Monsignor Anthony Figueiredo, a Vatican consultant from the Diocese of Assisi, was one of the first to bring a relic of Blessed Carlo to Brooklyn and Queens.

“I think Carlo feels very much at home in Brooklyn because he loves to be with people. He loved to be with people from different nationalities. He loved to be with people who had difficulties in their lives. I think Brooklyn is a microcosm of that,” said Monsignor Figueiredo. “Now we have a friend in heaven. The people of [the Diocese of] Brooklyn have a friend in heaven,” he explained.

In this Currents News special, you’ll learn about:

The Diocese of Brooklyn student who received a phone call from Blessed Carlo’s mother
The devotion rooms, statues and shrines around Brooklyn and Queens dedicated to the future saint
A Eucharistic prayer rally displaying Carlo’s relic attended by hundreds of schoolchildren
A New York City-based cartoonist who’s made Blessed Carlo one of her creative muses in a new comic book portraying saints as superheroes

At 15 years old, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia and his parents say he faced death with bravery and faith. Though Blessed Carlo’s life as a ‘normal kid’ is what makes him so relatable to young Catholics, his time spent on the computer was less about video games and more about Christ. He created a website documenting 163 Eucharistic miracles from around the globe, hoping to help people fall more in love with Jesus. The website, miracolieucaristici.org remains active. It could soon earn him the title “Patron Saint of the Internet.”

The half-hour Blessed Carlo Acutis special will air on Currents News, NET TV’s daily newscast. NET-TV is a cable network featuring news and information with a Catholic point of view and is available in the New York area on Spectrum, channel 97, Cablevision, channel 30, and Verizon FIOS channel 548. Viewers can also watch Currents News on YouTube.

###

ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR AGAINST A FORMER BROOKLYN PRIEST FOUND CREDIBLE

Posted on November 8, 2024November 8, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 8, 2024

ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR AGAINST A
FORMER BROOKLYN PRIEST FOUND CREDIBLE

Three allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against a former priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Michael Melendez, were recently reported to the diocese. The allegations, dating back to the 1990s, were immediately investigated for the Diocesan Review Board, which determined all allegations to be credible of sexual abuse of a minor. These allegations were made more than 16 years after Melendez chose to leave the priesthood and was laicized in 2008.

Melendez was most recently a religion teacher at St. Francis Preparatory High School in Fresh Meadows Queens, from the years of 2018-2024. He was suspended during the investigation and has been terminated effective immediately following these findings.

Melendez has also been terminated as the Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Grace Church in Howard Beach, a position he has held only since September of this year.

Melendez was ordained a priest in June 1989 and served the following parishes:

June 1989 St Brigid, Bushwick, Brooklyn

June 1994 St Elizabeth, Ozone Park, Queens

June 1998 St Michael’s, Flushing, Queens

Nov 2001 Our Lady of Fatima, Jackson Heights, Queens

In early 2004, Melendez requested and was granted a temporary personal leave, which was eventually made permanent until he was laicized in May 2008.

The credible finding means Michael Melendez will be added to the List of Credibly Accused Priests on the Diocese of Brooklyn website.

The Diocese takes all allegations of sexual misconduct with minors seriously and has instituted significant programs to prevent sexual abuse and protect children. The Diocese abides by the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children which includes a Zero Tolerance policy that states that any clergy member who is determined to be credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor is permanently removed from ministry. The Diocese also conducts initial and ongoing background checks of all employees and volunteers and provides age-appropriate sexual abuse awareness training for children and adults.

Anyone who has been the victim of clergy sexual abuse is encouraged to report it to law enforcement or to the Toll-Free Reporting Line established by the Diocese at 1-888-634-4499. All calls are forwarded to law enforcement officials.

###

melendez — Michael Melendez (Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Brooklyn).

Bishop Brennan Leads All Souls Day Mass at Queens Catholic Cemetery

Posted on November 4, 2024November 8, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 4, 2024

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Adriana Rodriguez
646-241-9805
arodriguez@desalesmedia.org

John Quaglione
718-576-9180
jquaglione@desalesmedia.org

BISHOP BRENNAN LEADS ALL SOULS DAY MASS AT QUEENS CATHOLIC CEMETERY

Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes Queens, was the main celebrant at an All Souls Day Mass at Mount St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing on Saturday, November 2, 2024.

450 people gathered to remember their deceased loved ones at the Mass organized by the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Catholic Cemeteries office.

“If we didn’t believe that we were going to live forever, it would be useless to pray for those who died. But we do believe. The third virtue, hope, is based on the certainty that we will live forever. We believe that our loved ones who have died are living the fullness of life with God and that we shall see one another again. We know from the source because God Himself came to tell us. Our hope is exactly what God desires—it is the God who created us that desires earnestly that we will be with Him forever,” said Bishop Robert Brennan in his Homily.

At the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop Brennan blessed and dedicated the new Mary, Our Lady of Peace Mausoleum.

During the summer of 1862, at the height of the Civil War, the first six acres of property were purchased that established Mount St. Mary Cemetery. On July 12, 1863, Bishop John Loughlin consecrated the new cemetery grounds.

Mount St. Mary Cemetery is located at 172-00 Booth Memorial Avenue in the Flushing section of Queens. All Souls Day Masses also took place at St. John Cemetery in Middle Village, St. Charles/Resurrection Cemeteries in Farmingdale, and Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn. For more information on Catholic Cemeteries Brooklyn and Queens, visit https://www.ccbklyn.org/.

###

Photos attached are courtesy of John Quaglione/DeSales Media.