VIDEO UPDATE: BISHOP BRENNAN LEADS THE CELEBRATION OF A SAINT WHO SOUGHT INTERRACIAL JUSTICE THROUGH FAITH

The Most Reverend Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, led a special Mass in honor of the Memorial of Saint Peter Claver tonight at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, located in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn.

A native of Spain, St. Peter Claver left his homeland in 1610 to head to be a missionary in the New World colonies. St. Peter Claver then began a 40 year-ministry caring for African Americans arriving on slave ships in Cartagena, Colombia by providing them medical care and food.  It is estimated that he baptized 300,000 slaves.

In his homily, Bishop Brennan focused on the importance for all of us to recognize the human dignity of all people as St. Peter Claver showed us. “People treated fellow human beings like commodities, and it wasn’t just the acts of kindness that St. Peter Claver performed, but he looked into the eyes of those suffering and who were being mistreated.  What did he do?  He looked into their eyes and saw Jesus,” said Bishop Brennan.

Bishop Brennan continued, “We ask the Lord to awaken within us that sense of the human dignity of every single person around us. And we ask the Lord, please God, let others see you in me, so that when they look at me, may they experience something of your love and help me where I fall short so that I can be more effective as a witness and sign of your love and compassion”.

The Mass also commemorated the 101^st anniversary of the founding of Saint Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church in Bedford Stuyvesant, the first African American Church in the Diocese of Brooklyn. The Church was founded by Monsignor Bernard J. Quinn, currently under consideration for sainthood for his efforts to establish racial equality.

Father Alonzo Cox, Coordinator for Vicariate for Black Catholic Concerns for the Diocese of Brooklyn, concelebrated the Mass. The Knights and Ladies Auxiliary of Saint Peter Claver, who work to promote civic and social justice, award scholarships, and nurture youth and family relationships, were in attendance.

The VIMEO link can be found here: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/748233878

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The Most Reverend Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, will be the main celebrant and Homilist at a Mass dedicated to the New York City Fire Department, this Sunday, September 11, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, located at 856 Pacific Street in Brooklyn. The Mass will commemorate the 21^st Anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Members of the FDNY’s Battalion 57 in Brooklyn will lead a procession over the Brooklyn Bridge to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. Bishop Brennan will meet the procession on the Brooklyn Bridge and accompany the FDNY along the procession route. The marchers will carry 25 flags, with 24 FDNY flags representing the 23 members of Battalion 57 who were lost at the World Trade Center and a Battalion member’s brother who also died that day, and one American flag.

Battalion 57 consists of several fire stations and multiple fire companies including 4 Battalion Chiefs, Engine Companies 217, 219, 230 and 235, as well as Ladder Companies 102 and 105.

*The procession of flags will walk over the Brooklyn Bridge exiting at Adams Street which becomes Boerum Place, turning left onto State Street (Engine 226), then right onto Nevins Street, followed by a left on Atlantic Avenue, a right on Flatbush Avenue, a left on Dean Street, another left onto Vanderbilt Avenue, and then a right onto Pacific Street where they will arrive at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in time for Mass.

The Mass will be broadcast live on the Diocesan cable network NET-TV available on Spectrum channel 97, Verizon Fios channel 548, and Optimum channel 30. The mass can also be viewed online at www.netny.tv.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 28, 2022

Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish, this morning led a Human chain from Annunciation Roman Catholic Church, corner of North 5^th and Havemeyer Streets, to Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church, located at North 5^th Street and Driggs Avenue, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Following a moment of silence, the Annunciation Church bells rang, and the march began, led by the American, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian flags. A prayer service was held outside the Church immediately following Mass celebrated by Ukrainian Catholic Church Bishop Paul Chomnycky of the Eparchy of Stamford. Frank Carone, Chief of Staff to Mayor Eric Adams, was among the guest speakers.

“We come here today to show our support, as we did when the war broke out a couple of months ago, and you came to us and we prayed together for your friends, your family, and your homeland. Even though we are very far away, we are united in prayer that this war will end and that we will stay united in peace, in love, and in faith,” said Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello standing on the steps of Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church.

The prayer service also recognized Ukrainian Independence Day, celebrated earlier this week on August 24^th, and promoted continued solidarity in word, song, and prayer, among the people of Brooklyn and Ukraine. 

VIMEO Link: https://vimeo.com/743989740

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The Most Reverend Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, today announced a $50,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the return of the Tabernacle stolen from St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope during the Memorial Day weekend.  The reward is being offered by the company that insures Diocesan properties, in addition to the $3,500 reward publicized by the New York City Police Department earlier this month.

“We continue to pray for the one-of-a-kind Tabernacle, made possible by the original parishioners of St. Augustine, to be returned and then restored, in all its glory, to the heart of this church. However, the theft of this historical item has not robbed the faith of the people of this parish,” said Bishop Robert Brennan.

Earlier this month, Bishop Brennan joined Father Frank Tumino, Pastor of St. Augustine-St. Francis Xavier Parish, at a special Mass that blessed and purified St. Augustine in the wake of the desecration and burglary.

The brazen burglary was discovered in the afternoon of Saturday, May 28, 2022. The thief cut through a metal protective casing and made off with the tabernacle, which has been part of the church since it was built in the late 1800s. This holy sacramental receptacle is irreplaceable due to its historical and artistic value. The angels which flanked the tabernacle were decapitated and destroyed.

At the time the incident was discovered, Father Tumino stated, “To know that a burglar entered the most sacred space of our beautiful church and took great pains to cut into a security system is a heinous act of disrespect.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church is located at 116 6^th Avenue (corner of Sterling Place), in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.

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