VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI will canonize a Brazilian Franciscan during his May trip to Brazil and will declare four other new saints in June. During a prayer service in the Apostolic Palace Feb. 23, the pope set May 11 as the date for the canonization of Blessed Antonio Galvao, an 18th-century Franciscan and...Read More

WASHINGTON – The U.S. bishops publicly expressed their “heartfelt prayers and pastoral solidarity with all those affected by the oil that continues to leak into the Gulf of Mexico.”Read More

Last Thursday, the committee formed to create a strategic plan for the future of Catholic schools, the Blue Ribbon Committee on Catholic Schools, issued to me its 56 recommendations for assuring the long-term sustainability and growth of our Catholic school system.Read More

Mary Ellen Russell, deputy directory for education and family life with the Maryland Catholic Conference, called on state lawmakers to pass a bill that would require nonpublic school administrators to be informed when one of their students has been arrested for a violent or sexual crime and when such a student from another school transfers...Read More

There are few topics that will ignite tempers like religious beliefs, but a panel of spiritual leaders representing Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus and Muslims challenged about 75 people at St. Ignatius, Baltimore, to read the holy books of faiths other than their own. Ignorance of religious beliefs has not only created friction among neighbors throughout...Read More

TOWSON – When Johnathan Franck looks at the moon, he sees untapped potential.Read More

Nearly two months after succeeding the late Archbishop William D. Borders as the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s oldest priest, Father E. Gerard Huesman died June 7. The former pastor and longtime hospital chaplain was 95.Read More

When Debbie Collins’ wedding ceremony at Sacred Heart of Mary, Graceland Park, concludes June 23, the 26-year-old Dundalk resident plans to toast her nuptials with a sip of champagne. Though she knows that excessive alcohol consumption can be harmful to the liver, the soon-to-be bride isn’t concerned about the effects of the mouthful of sparkling...Read More