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LONDON – Catholic bishops from four continents are appealing to leaders of the world’s richest countries to honor their commitments to combat extreme poverty. The eight church leaders met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair April 30 and were scheduled to meet with government leaders in Germany and Italy before meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.

In honor of National Stroke Awareness month, St. Agnes, Baltimore, will host a free seminar, “new Rehabilitation Advances in the Treatment of Stroke,” May 15.

Mary Regina Bolgiano, a student at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson, was the grand-prize winner of Safeway’s Lucerne® Art of Diary™ “Cows & History” art contest. A junior from Lutherville, Mary was chosen from a pool of 30 national finalists from 11 states who were vying for the $22,000 grand prize which includes a $20,000 donation to her school, along with $1,000 in prize money each to her and her art instructor, Anne Walker. Her submission, “Revol-Moo-Tion,” incorporated historic images of Paul Revere’s historic ride (in this case, on a cow) and George Washington crossing the Delaware River, which is depicted as a river of ice cream. A ceramic cow featuring her design is currently on display at Safeway’s store at 10335 Reisterstown Rd. in Owings Mills, where it will remain until Monday, May 7.

When the new school year begins in late August, school officials at St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, expect to see a more racially diverse enrollment with the addition of several Hispanic students, ending a two-year interlude with an all-black student body. It’s the first time in its 179-year history that St. Frances Academy officials have actively recruited students, which they did with a concerted effort to enlist Hispanic teens.

A deacon’s son and a graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School, Baltimore, will move closer to their goal of priesthood on May 12 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore, when they are ordained transitional deacons. John Rapisarda, 29, and Ernest Cibelli, 25, will be ordained by Cardinal William H. Keeler, marking the last step before completing their journey to the priesthood next year.

Memorial Day may be the kick off of the summer season, but for many aging veterans it will be a time to journey to the Maryland World War II Memorial to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice many in the state gave during that conflict. As spectators attend the Memorial Day ceremony at the Ritchie Highway memorial, they will see the names of 6,454 Marylanders who lost their lives in World War II engraved in the monument’s granite, said Cathy Watts, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs. “It’s a moving place,” Ms. Watts said. “It also provides a historical portrait of the role Maryland played in World War II.”

WASHINGTON – At Cabrini Clinic in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, “every week is Cover the Uninsured Week,” says Mercy Sister Mary Ellen Howard, who has directed the free clinic for more than a dozen years. In a city with some 200,000 uninsured adults, the clinic – formally known as the St. Frances Cabrini Clinic of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church – provides medical care, prescription drug assistance and mental health services to about 150 people a week, completely free of charge.