A Song by Mosikar Isaac Mall

KENSINGTON — The faithful of the Diocese of Brooklyn took time out during the busy days of Lent and the preparations for Holy Week to gather at St. Rose of Lima Church on April 7 and pay tribute to persecuted Christians from around the world.

Bishop Robert Brennan was the celebrant of the Mass, which honored the memory of those who suffered because of their religious beliefs in 2023 and 2024.

“It is more prevalent than one might imagine,” Bishop Brennan said. “We come together in a sense of solidarity and a sense of awareness.”

The persecuted victims — a list of names was provided at the Mass by the international humanitarian organization Aid to the Church in Need — included Father Paul Tatu Mothobi, a Catholic priest who was shot to death on a road outside Cape Town, South Africa, on April 27, 2024.

Another victim, Father Isaac Achi, was a Catholic priest who was burned to death on Jan. 15, 2023, after vandals set fire to his church, Sts. Peter and Paul, in Minni, Nigeria.

And there were four students who were killed in the bombing of a university gym in the Philippines where Mass was being celebrated on Dec. 2, 2023 — Janine Arenas, Junrey Barbante, Evangeline Aromin, and Riza Daniel.

The Mass was a part of the Courage in Faith initiative organized by Aid to the Church in Need. The group, which monitors oppression against Christians, holds the initiative every year a week before Holy Week to urge the faithful to pray for those who face threats, violence, and death in countries where religious freedom is nonexistent.

Bishop Brennan also urged the faithful to pray for the persecuted. “You can’t discount the power of prayer,” he said.