We began the month with a beautiful Mass celebrated by one of the newly ordained priests for the Diocese of Brooklyn, Rev. Sean M. Suckiel who, as a seminarian, served his pastoral year here. It was a wonderful celebration with the enthusiastic Father Sean with a lovely reception at the Parish Institute which was provided by The Rosary Society. Videos are available on youtube.

Our parish was blessed when the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, named two men with strong connections to Our Lady of Mount Carmel as auxiliary bishops of Brooklyn. Our beloved former pastor, Msgr. Paul Sanchez and a native son, Msgr. Raymond Chappetto were both invited to celebrate Thanksgiving Mass here. Upon their visits, both our “Mount Carmel boys” were presented with a special gift from the parish to remember us by: new miters hand-embroidered by cloistered Vietnamese nuns with an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a unique and memorable gift.

The first of these moving celebrations was a Thanksgiving Mass on September 8th where the main celebrant was one of our native sons, the newly ordained Bishop Chappetto. It was full circle for His Excellency as he was baptized, confirmed and celebrated his First Mass at OLMC, and returned to say Mass as Bishop. He had the unusual treat of being able to “Visum” his own baptismal register entry at the conclusion of Mass, before blessing the worksite of our new Church handicapped ramp. Here are some pictures of the fabulous celebration. The Italian Community supplied delicious refreshments for the reception at the Parish Institute.

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On September 23rd, we were graced by our beloved former pastor, Bishop Paul Sanchez who was the main celebrant at an English-Spanish Thanksgiving Mass. At the end of Mass he blessed the worksite where the new elevator and west vestibule of the church will be erected over the next few months. The parishioners were overjoyed in wishing His Excellency their very best to him in his challenging new position. The Spanish community provided a wonderful reception in the Parish Institute where hundreds of parishioners stood on a line for a couple of hours to receive his blessing. Videos are available on youtube.

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We concluded the month with our third annual Mass in honor of the first canonized saint of the Philippines, San Lorenzo Ruiz and His Companion Martyrs. We were honored that the Filipino Diocesan Apostolate Music Ministry provided the music for the Mass. The Filipino Community provided an amazing meal – from soup to dessert – in the Parish Institute.  Videos are available on youtube.