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CHARLESTON, S.C. – As chaplain of the South Carolina Firefighters’ Association for the past 23 years, Monsignor Joseph R. Roth has made a habit of writing to the families of each of the 80 or 90 members who die each year. But he never expected to have to write to nine families at once, as he will now do after a fire in a Charleston furniture warehouse claimed the lives of nine firefighters in the early morning hours of June 19. The fire began around 7 p.m. June 18. Monsignor Roth, vicar general for the Diocese of Charleston, spoke briefly with The Catholic Miscellany, Charleston diocesan newspaper, by telephone June 19.

Shortly after undergoing brain surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, June 18, Cardinal William H. Keeler was cracking jokes with a family member, a sign the procedure went well, officials from the Archdiocese of Baltimore said. Deacon Rod Mortel, director of the Office of the Propagation of the Faith for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, visited the cardinal in his hospital room June 19. “I was surprised to see him in such good shape just 24 hours after having surgery. He is doing very well,” said Deacon Mortel, a retired physician. “He was alert and in good spirits. He even got up and walked around, with a little help, of course.”

JERUSALEM – The Gaza compound of the Rosary Sisters was ransacked and looted and sacred objects were destroyed during Palestinian infighting that led to the Hamas faction’s takeover of the Gaza Strip. Monsignor Manuel Musallam, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, said gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades to break down the doors of the compound, which is located some distance from the Holy Family Parish compound in the Tenalhawa section of Gaza. He estimated damages at more than $500,000. “This is more than vandalism,” he said. “They forced open the door and entered and destroyed everything. The even put the sisters’ beds on fire.”

Living with eight different foster parents over the course of six years isn’t exactly a recipe for stability, but 18-year-old Morris Johnson didn’t let it hold him back. With strong support from Catholic educators and a deep faith in God, the young convert to Catholicism made it through Mother Seton Academy in Fells Point and graduated this June from Loyola Blakefield in Towson. He plans to study business at Goucher College in Towson this fall. A few days after receiving his high school diploma, Mr. Johnson said he is grateful for the opportunities he has received through his Catholic upbringing. He’s not sure where he would be today had he not attended Catholic schools, he said.

The aroma of baked lasagna and homemade sauces wafted through the parish hall of Our Lady of the Fields, Millersville, June 16, as the parish celebrated the feast of St. Anthony with an Italian Festival. “It’s a good way to evangelize,” said Lisa Pitocco, coordinator of the event and a native Italian. “We get the Italians from all over to get together and even people who aren’t Italian come and experience the culture and good food.”

As Cardinal William H. Keeler underwent surgery to remove excess fluid from his brain June 18, well wishers and fellow Catholics prayed for the 76-year-old Archbishop of Baltimore during a 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore. Bishop W. Francis Malooly, western vicar and vicar general, told the congregation and members of the media who assembled for the service he had celebrated Mass with the cardinal earlier that morning and said the cardinal was optimistic about the outcome of the surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.