Manhattan’s annual Columbus Day Parade was preceded by the annual Columbus Day Mass, celebrated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the morning of October 9, 2023. 

Bishop Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, served as the Mass’s principal celebrant. He noted Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s absence, referring to a telephone call the two had had earlier in the morning. 

“[Cardinal Dolan] wanted me to welcome you very warmly to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as he would say, ‘America’s Parish Church.’ He is united with us in prayer at this very hour. As you know, he is doing important work for the Church at the synod in Rome, and we need him there. But I can tell you his heart is right here in New York with us,” Bishop Brennan said in his opening remarks.

In a homily delivered in both Italian and English, Monsignor Joseph R. Giandurco of St. Patrick’s Church in Yorktown Heights mentioned the controversy that surrounds Christopher Columbus, who is credited with being the first European explorer to reach North America on a permanent basis and is criticized for his treatment of indigenous people. The day is also recognized as Indigenous Peoples Day.

“A day like today makes me realize that for all of its faults, many people with different diets and different languages and backgrounds have wanted to come and still want to come to America. Not only as explorers or tourists even, but to start a new life,” Monsignor Giandurco said. He added that the initial Italian immigrants, often like immigrants from elsewhere today, were looked down upon but struggled to succeed. 

Among those concelebrating with Bishop Brennan were: Auxiliary Bishop Peter Byrne; Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Espaillat; Auxiliary Bishop Edmund Whalen; Monsignor Joseph LaMorte, vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York; and Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio, Diocese of Brooklyn.