RELATED: Bishop Manuel\u00a0de Jes\u00fas\u00a0Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s Appointment to Florida Diocese Continues Brooklyn-Palm Beach Catholic Legacy<\/a><\/p>\nAt the end of the Mass, Bishop-designate Rodr\u00edguez beamed as he stood on the altar and accepted several gifts\u00a0from the academy, including a gift basket\u00a0of wine and chocolates, a\u00a0giant,\u00a0hand-made card emblazed with the words \u201cWe Love You,\u201d\u00a0and a poster with a blown-up photo of him alongside words of gratitude for his kindness and leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The centerpiece of the gift-giving was a painting\u00a0of a tree\u00a0representing\u00a0Our Lady of Sorrows\u00a0Catholic\u00a0Academy, which opened 100 years ago and has deep roots in the Corona community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While\u00a0teacher Jennifer Whitehurst painted the piece,\u00a0all of\u00a0the students had\u00a0a\u00a0hand\u00a0in its creation,\u00a0Reicino\u00a0explained,\u00a0because each student put their thumbprint\u00a0on the canvas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cI am going to keep it in my office in Palm Beach,\u201d Bishop-designate Manuel de Jes\u00fas Rodr\u00edguez told students as they presented him with a special gift \u2014 an original painting symbolizing the family tree with branches symbolizing the family atmosphere at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Academy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to create something that the entire school can collaborate on together,\u00a0and\u00a0that is unique,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0not just a plaque, not just flowers, but something that\u00a0can\u00a0be\u00a0looked at\u00a0forever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bishop-designate Rodr\u00edguez said he\u00a0was deeply moved\u00a0by the painting and\u00a0all of\u00a0the other gifts.\u00a0\u201cI am\u00a0about to cry because this is\u00a0such a kind and amazing gesture. I am\u00a0very\u00a0grateful\u00a0for the generosity,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0told The Tablet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The painting was significant to eighth-grader\u00a0Sara Sarmiento.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt reminded me of how each\u00a0of the\u00a0branches\u00a0symbolizes\u00a0our school, our community,\u00a0and\u00a0how\u00a0we help each other,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However,\u00a0Sara\u00a0confessed to having\u00a0mixed feelings about Bishop-designate Rodr\u00edguez leaving Our Lady of Sorrows.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel a bit more excited for him that\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0going to a new opportunity. Everything is quite exciting. I hope he enjoys it,\u201d she explained. \u201cBut I also feel\u00a0kind of sad\u00a0that\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0leaving.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0been a part of life here at OLS.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0gift-giving\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0end there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In\u00a0his\u00a0homily,\u00a0Bishop-designate\u00a0Rodr\u00edguez\u00a0had\u00a0a parting\u00a0gift for the\u00a0students\u00a0in the form\u00a0of\u00a0some\u00a0fatherly\u00a0advice.\u00a0He\u00a0talked about\u00a0pressing\u00a0world issues like the war in Ukraine and U.S.\u00a0tensions with\u00a0countries like\u00a0Iran\u00a0and Venezuela, urging\u00a0the students\u00a0to\u00a0strive\u00a0to be peacemakers\u00a0in their\u00a0own\u00a0lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeace,\u201d he told them,\u00a0\u201cbegins\u00a0with us, in our hearts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Children in the younger grades at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Academy made a giant greeting card for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-120426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Children in the younger grades at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Academy made a giant greeting card for the departing pastor and signed personalized messages to Bishop-designate\u00a0Manuel de Jes\u00fas Rodr\u00edguez inside. (Photos: Paula Katinas)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/kids-present-Manuel-with-painting.jpeg\"\/)