Venezuelan Catholic Community Honors Our Lady of Coromoto, Prays for Earthquake Victims

Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Coromoto at St. Matthias Church in Ridgewood on Sept. 19. The event, sponsored by the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Venezuelan Apostolate, included music and prayers for those affected by recent earthquakes in Venezuela.

During the Mass, Bishop Brennan gave a special blessing to local volunteers who spent the summer gathering food and relief supplies for people displaced by two earthquakes in June. The earthquakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, resulted in an estimated 6,500 deaths. Bishop Brennan noted that the community in Brooklyn and Queens acted on their faith to provide relief for their brothers and sisters in Venezuela despite the heat and the distance.