Last Sunday, a group of students with the Fordham Catholic Worker joined the Catholic Worker in holding a vigil for the victims of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Roughly 20 participants stood outside the doors of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, holding signs and awaiting the end of the 10:15 a.m. mass. The demonstration was peaceful and well-received by bystanders, many of whom expressed solidarity with those standing.
The Catholic Worker is a religious organization and community dedicated to living in accordance with the principles of justice as set forth in religious scripture and Catholic religious teaching. Their newspaper, “The Catholic Worker,” has been in service for over 90 years and has covered the Fordham Graduate Student Workers’ organizing efforts.
Fordham students have joined the Catholic Worker and have started their own unofficial club, the Fordham Catholic Worker. The founders of the club learned about the Catholic Worker through the class “Liturgy That Does Justice.”
“Catholic Workers came and spoke to our theology [class] last spring,” said AnnaMarie Pacione, FCRH ’26. “We were encouraged to go to soup line one morning, and the rest was history… [we] began to organize with the Fordham community so the Workers could have some young people around.”
Carmen Tratta, a Catholic Worker member, said the demonstrations began to refute the church’s silence on the ongoing humanitarian crises.
“This is a historical moment, this ongoing genocide in Gaza and Palestine, so we thought it was appropriate to come to the church because the church is not doing anything about it,” said Tratta.
“These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the church is saying nothing… At the end of the homilies here, [St. Patrick’s] one of the things that has happened because of our presence is they do at least mention Gaza — they actually say the word. For the first three weeks that we did this, they didn’t do this. They only talked about the Holy Land.”
“In the face of so much injustice it’s easy to fall into despair, but the vigil proved to be an experience of resistance and surprising hope by standing in solidarity and prayer,” added Pacione.
On March 3, Pope Francis issued an open call for a ceasefire in Gaza, encouraging Catholics worldwide to do so as well. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York has recently concluded a trip to Israel and Palestine last week, intending to meet with the families of hostages as Chairman of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.
In an open letter distributed outside St. Patrick’s, the Catholic Worker addressed the archdiocese regarding their lack of commentary on the ongoing crisis.
“As we witness the continuing horror of grieving families, orphaned children and a starving populace, we stand in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral to keep vigil and to invite the Archdiocese of New York to speak out and stand with us in this plea for an end to the bombing which has killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians.”
“From the pulpit, no mention was made of this from any priests that we know,” added Tratta.
Students departed together from campus and traveled to St. Patrick’s, where they joined Catholic Worker members who provided signs. The group stood outside the entrance to the cathedral for roughly an hour holding signs with expressions such as “Pope Says End War Now” and “Stop Gaza Genocide.”
During this day of protest, the entrance to St. Patrick’s was also occupied by protestors for Haiti, who both attended mass and sat outside on the steps with flags.
“When people walk past and thank us, or smile, or shed a tear, I know I’m in the right place, even if it’s micro,” said Pacione.
Undergraduate students across the country have been organizing and expressing solidarity with those in Gaza. Most notably, Columbia students, who, as of Tuesday, entered day seven of an encampment on their campus, have been met with sweeping arrests, expulsions and evictions from university housing. At Fordham, student groups such as Fordham Students for Justice in Palestine and Fordham Law’s National Lawyers Guild have expressed solidarity with Columbia’s demonstration and the Palestinian people.
Additional information on events from the Fordham Catholic Worker can be found on their Instagram, @fordhamcatholicworker.
