{"id":66822,"date":"2025-12-10T15:47:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/66822\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T15:47:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:47:09","slug":"light-to-the-darkness-of-the-season-bishop-brennan-leads-grand-army-plaza-tree-lighting-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/66822\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Light to the darkness of the season:\u2019 Bishop Brennan leads Grand Army Plaza tree lighting \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Bishop\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Diocese of Brooklyn Bishop Brennan presided over the Dec. 8 Grand Army Plaza tree lighting, which coincided with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. <\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of john Quaglione\/DeSales Media<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t <\/p>\n

Grand Army Plaza glowed with color and ceremony on Monday as Bishop Brennan, leader of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, presided over the annual lighting of the Christmas tree and blessing of the cr\u00e9che.<\/p>\n

The event, held Dec. 8 in front of the Soldiers\u2019 and Sailors\u2019 Memorial Arch<\/a>, drew parishioners, passersby and families who gathered to usher in the Advent season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BishopThe tree features 18,000 multicolored lights, representing the borough\u2019s diversity.Photo courtesy of John Quaglione\/DeSales Media<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s display features a 25-foot balsam fir wrapped in 18,000 multicolored lights alongside a traditional Nativity scene. Together, they form one of the city\u2019s most prominent Catholic Christmas installations and serve as a visual marker of the diocese\u2019s approach to the holidays \u2014 rooted in faith, steeped in tradition and open to all.<\/p>\n

\"BishopBishop Brennan blessed the Nativity set with a prayer for all those who pass by.Photo courtesy of John Quaglione\/DeSales Media<\/p>\n

Bishop Brennan emphasized the spiritual significance of the celebration, linking the evening to the Catholic Church\u2019s Feast of the Immaculate Conception, observed annually on Dec. 8.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis display of the nativity will give other people hope as they see the reason for our joy,\u201d he said before entering into prayer for peace, justice and mercy. \u201cWe have brought light to the darkness of the season, as we prepare for the birth of Jesus.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BishopBishop Brennan at the Grand Army Plaza tree lighting on Dec. 8.Photo courtesy of John Quaglione\/DeSales Media<\/p>\n

The tree\u2019s multicolored lights were intentionally chosen, symbolizing the diversity of the Diocese of Brooklyn \u2014 known as the \u201cDiocese of Immigrants.\u201d The Diocese offers free assistance for \u201cimmigrants, tenants and workers\u201d through the Catholic Migration Services<\/a>, a \u201cnot-for-profit legal service provider committed to promoting justice and compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Diocese of Brooklyn Bishop Brennan presided over the Dec. 8 Grand Army Plaza tree lighting, which coincided with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66823,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[34792,98,34793,34794,100,99,34795,34796,34797,19097,23130,34798,34799,8001,34800,34801,9,24,12,370,63,18400],"class_list":["post-66822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-bishop-robert-brennan","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-christmas-events","tag-brooklyn-community-events","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-traditions","tag-catholic-migration-services","tag-catholic-news-brooklyn","tag-christmas-tree-lighting","tag-diocese-of-brooklyn","tag-diocese-of-immigrants","tag-feast-of-the-immaculate-conception","tag-grand-army-plaza","tag-holiday-events-nyc","tag-nativity-scene-brooklyn","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-holiday-season"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66822","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=66822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}