FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 9, 2021
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BISHOP’S CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON RAISES $300,000 TO SUPPORT CATHOLIC EDUCATION AND YOUTH PROGRAMS
The Most Reverend Robert J. Brennan, the newly installed Bishop of Brooklyn, this week hosted the 2021 Bishop’s Christmas Luncheon, sponsored by the Catholic Foundation of Brooklyn and Queens, at Russo’s on the Bay in the Howard Beach section of Queens.
The Christmas Luncheon raised $300,000 to support the Bishop’s scholarship fund for Catholic education and youth ministry programs throughout the Diocese in Brooklyn and Queens.
“People like you make a difference. You make an enormous difference in the lives of so many children and so many families. One of the things I often say is that Catholic education is about a partnership. Certainly a partnership at the level of the school, but it is a much broader network of partnerships that involves the support of the parishes, the work of the Diocesan education office, but it also involves a network of people who really believe in our children. It takes people like you who love God, who love the Church, and who love Catholic education,” said Bishop Robert J. Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, in his welcoming remarks.
The honorees included Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio, honored with the St. John Paull II Distinguished Stewardship Award; The Tablet’s Editor Emeritus Ed Wilkinson, who was awarded the Emma A. Daniels Benefactor’s Award; and Robert Schirling, Board Chair of Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy, who received the Spirit of Hope Award.
“This year’s event was our most successful ever with more than 900 people in attendance. The Catholic Foundation provides so much to the youth and to our Catholic schools in our Diocese. Our supporters make it possible for more than 95 parishes to have Youth Ministers on staff, to build the future leaders of our Church, and provide scholarships available so that all who want a Catholic education can have that chance,” said Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, Vicar for Development for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Christopher Macchio, one of the three New York Tenors at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, sang “Ave Maria” and “O Holy Night” at the start of the event. Students from Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy in Douglaston, Queens, re-enacted the Nativity scene at the event. 1010 WINS Reporter Juliet Papa served as the Mistress of Ceremonies.
Photo #1 – Divine Mercy Catholic Academy students re-enact the Nativity Scene.
Photo #2- Ed Wilkinson, Editor Emeritus of The Tablet, awarded the Emma A. Daniels Benefactor Award by Bishop Robert J. Brennan and Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello.
Photo #3- Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio was honored for his 18 years of service to the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Robert J. Brennan and Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello.
Photo #4- Divine Wisdom Catholic Academy Board Chair Robert Schirling was among the distinguished honorees at the year’s 2021 Bishop’s Christmas Luncheon.
Photo #5- (Left to right) Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, Vicar for Development for the Diocese of Brooklyn, Robert Schirling, Bishop Robert J. Brennan, Ed Wilkinson, Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio, and Mistress of Ceremonies, Juliet Papa of 1010 WINS.
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