Papal Nuncio Celebrates French Mass at St. Agnes by Laura Eng

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Papal Nuncio, celebrated the French Mass at St. Agnes Church in Cobble Hill on Sunday, October 7th. Joining the pope’s envoy to the United States in concelebration were Diocese of Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Parish of St. Agnes/St. Paul Pastor Monsignor Joseph Nugent, Father Paul Anel, Father Willy Kingsley, and Deacon Leroy Branch.

In attendance were many members of the French-speaking community residing in the Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens area who warmly welcomed their compatriot, Archbishop Pierre. According to Father Anel, who hails from southwest France and has lived in Brooklyn for ten years, a visit by the Papal Nuncio, a first for the parish, was “an important recognition for the French community and a reminder that modest and humble as our community may be in terms of numbers, we are part of the larger, universal Church…part of something bigger.”

The French congregation is comprised of a number of young families with small children who were no doubt attracted to the area by local French-English dual language programs, including the one implemented at P.S. 58 by the late visionary principal, Giselle Gault-McGee. In response to the influx of French families, Bishop DiMarzio had the idea to start a French Mass at St. Agnes in 2014. Father Anel estimates there are 20 to 25 French families regularly attending St. Agnes and he, in turn, came up with the idea to start a French religious education program. There are currently 15 children (ages 6 to 11) registered and there is also a monthly pre-school “éveil à la foi” (introduction to catechism) for children ages 3 to 6.

The gospel read during the Mass was from St. Mark and included the passage in which Jesus instructed the disciples, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” With the many children present and the Mass punctuated by the sounds of crying babies and scampering toddlers, some even crawling up the center aisle, this reading was particularly appropriate. The offerings of bread and wine along with bouquets of flowers were carried to the altar by slightly older children accompanied by local restauranteur and chef Jean-Jacques Bernat. And when it was time for the collection, that too, was performed by children with several young French girls passing the baskets and carrying them to the foot of the altar.

After Mass, I spoke to Archbishop Pierre who expressed his gratitude for being invited to St. Agnes and stated, “Being French myself and representing the Holy Father in this country, I’m very happy that the great number of French people living here have not forgotten to celebrate their faith.” The French Mass gives them “the possibility to connect with their tradition, to celebrate their faith, but also to live as a community… living our faith in community can only contribute to society.”