St. Sebastian is arguably the largest Catholic parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Queens and Kings Counties in New York City. On most Sundays we have approximately 6,000 people at Mass. Today, Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, we had at least 10,000 people so far, with one Mass to go tonight at 6 PM.
I celebrated the Noon Mass in Spanish in the church, Father Sabino Estrada celebrated the "overflow" Mass at 12:15 in the school auditorium. The church and the auditorium were both completely filled. The chapel was also filled and we 'piped' the audio from the church into the chapel. Between the two Masses we easily had 3,000 people.
My only regret is that I didn't have pictures taken. I will next year, though!
As a priest, it is such a moving experience to celebrate Mass with all those people! I am so glad for Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday, since they bring so many people out for church; if we're welcoming, maybe some of them will stay with us. I pray so.
