400 pilgrims from the Diocese of Brooklyn will head to Krakow Poland from July 25th to the 31st for a once-in-a lifetime chance to encounter and pray with Pope Francis during World Youth Day 2016. They will join nearly a million young people from around the globe during the 7 day event of prayer, teaching sessions with bishops, cultural exchanges, and music. The crowd is expected to grow to 2.5 million on the event’s final day when the Holy Father celebrates Mass.

The Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes186 parishes in Brooklyn and Queens, is sending the country’s largest diocesan group to World Youth Day.  Preparations for the journey, which began 3 years ago, have included fundraisers, community service, meditation, and prayer.

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WHO: Community members, local police officers, NYPD Deputy Chief Chaplain Robert J. Romano, NYPD Chaplain Monsignor David L. Cassato, Rev. A.R. Bernard, Dr. Uma Mysorekar of the Hindu Temple Society, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, and The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn

WHAT: Candlelight vigil for 2 men fatally shot by police in Louisiana and Minnesota as well as 5 Dallas officers subsequently killed during a protest of the police-involved shootings.

WHEN: Monday July 11, 2016 at 7:30pm

WHERE: Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11217

WHY: To mourn the lives lost and pray for an end to violence and the healing of police-community relations across the country.

Read Bishop DiMarzio’s open letter to the faithful of the Diocese of Brooklyn regarding the allegations put forth by the New York Daily News and New York State Assembly Member Margaret Markey, which the Bishop posted on his Facebook page:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The New York Daily News has published an article in today’s paper claiming that I attempted to bribe an elected official several years ago in order to advance the political agenda of the Catholic Church.

I want you to know that this very serious accusation against me is patently false.

This is the latest and perhaps most offensive in a series of irresponsible and inaccurate reports published by the Daily News.

Assembly Member Marge Markey told the Daily News that in a meeting in 2010 I offered her $5,000 to drop her push to reform New York State’s statute of limitations for crimes of sexual abuse against minors. The meeting Ms. Markey is referring to actually took place in 2007. It took place at our former Chancery located at 75 Greene Avenue, not Bishop Ford High School as she claimed. Present in that meeting was myself, Assembly Member Markey, Monsignor Kieran Harrington, Assembly Member Joseph Lentol, Assembly Member Vito Lopez, Richard Barnes who is executive director of the NYS Catholic Conference, and Sister Ellen Patricia Finn, O.P., who at the time was the Victim’s Assistance Coordinator for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

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On Saturday, June 4th, the Diocese of Brooklyn will rank among the top dioceses in the nation in terms of new priests when 10 men are ordained to the priesthood for service in the diocese. The ordination will take place beginning at 11 a.m. at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, 856 Pacific Street in Brooklyn. The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, will be the celebrant.

Adding to the already rich diversity of the Diocese of Brooklyn, our new priests come from all over the world.  Seven were born outside the United States – in Haiti, Poland, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Poland, and Nigeria. Three were born in the diocese, all of them with Brooklyn roots.

Our new priests join the diocese with degrees ranging from Theology and Divinity to Social and Economic Studies and with experience ranging from philosophy to banking to carpentry. In discerning God’s call to serve the Church as priests, the men found inspiration in prayer, pilgrimage, family, pastoral role models, and from Pope Francis.

“We are truly blessed that these ten newly Ordained have answered God’s call to the priesthood” Bishop DiMarzio said. “Each will enrich our vibrant and multicultural diocese with their deep faith and unique backgrounds. We thank their family and friends for the support they have given to them on the road to the priesthood.”

The Diocese of Brooklyn, the eighth largest diocese in the United States and the only entirely urban diocese in the Nation, serves the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The combined population of the boroughs stands at 4.8 million residents, of which more than 1.5 million identify themselves as Catholics.

The diocesan network New Evangelization Television (NET TV) will provide live coverage of the Priests’ Ordination, which will also be live streamed on www.netny.tv. The encore presentation is on Saturday, June 18 at 9 p.m. 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 Time Warner Cable, Channel 97; Cablevision, Channel 30; Verizon FiOS, Ch. 48; and nationally on Verizon FiOS On Demand. Read more »

On Sunday, May 29^th, immediately following 10:00am Mass, St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Carroll Gardens will unveil and rededicate a restored World War I memorial statue. The historic statue was run over in December when a car jumped the curb outside the church rectory and crashed. Click here for crash video.

Erected more than 90 years ago, the statue was dedicated to local men, living within St. Mary’s parish, who gave their lives serving in the First World War. The statue’s inscription reads, “Sacred to the Memory of St. Mary’s Boys who died in the World War.”

While preparing for the statue’s rededication, St. Mary Star of the Sea parishioner and retired NYPD officer Richard Conte was inspired to learn more about the local men who died for their country a hundred years ago.  He discovered the names of 25 men from the parish area who gave their lives in service. Church leaders will share information on all of those men and provide pictures of some during Sunday’s service.

The Church is located at 467 Court Street, Brooklyn 11231. Following 10:00am Mass, the service will begin at approximately 10:40am. To the hymn “America the Beautiful,” the church’s pastor, Father Christopher Cashman, will lead a procession from the church to the front of the rectory. After the unveiling, Father Chris will bless and rededicate the statue. The ceremony will close with the playing of Taps.

“We rededicate our statue to all those who died from our Parish serving their country in World War I,” Father Chris said.  “We also honor and remember all who died protecting our freedom in all of the wars.”

Click here for more information.

The world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima is at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, 856 Pacific Street, Brooklyn, NY. It arrived at noon today, May 20. It will remain overnight, departing on May 21 at noon. NET TV will broadcast the Statue’s arrival, LIVE on Friday, May 20, beginning at 3 PM, followed by Holy Mass at 7 PM. A farewell Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, May 21 at 12Noon. All of these events will be broadcast LIVE on NET TV. Click here to go to NET TV. There will also be an all-night vigil.

The statue will visit a total of three churches within the Diocese of Brooklyn, two in Brooklyn and one in Queens, from May 19-23, as part of its historic two-year journey across America.

Called the Fatima Centennial U.S. Tour for Peace, the tour commemorates the 100th anniversary of the apparition of the Angel of Peace (1916) and the Blessed Mother at Fatima, Portugal (1917).

The tour began in March in Metuchen, N.J., and coincides with the centenary celebrations in Fatima where Pope Francis is expected to visit in May, 2017.

The statue arrived in the Diocese of Brooklyn on Thursday, May 19. Crowds lined up to see it at its first stop, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Dyker Heights.

On Sunday, May 22, the statue will visit Our Lady of Fatima Church in East Elmhurst. The Sunday schedule will include a noon bilingual Mass with Bishop Alfonso Cabezas. During the day, there will be a procession, crowning of Mary, Mass, Marian concert, scapular enrollment, dance performance, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, confessions, consecration of the Blessed Mother, rosary, novena, Divine Mercy, veneration and benediction.

On Monday, May 23, Masses will be offered there at 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., and 8 p.m. On that day, there also will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, a school play, rosary and novena, consecration to Our Lady of Fatima and a farewell to Our Lady.