WASHINGTON – About 100 students at The Catholic University of America in Washington began their spring break by praying the rosary with Pope Benedict XVI via satellite from Vatican City March 1.

WASHINGTON – About 100 students at The Catholic University of America in Washington began their spring break by praying the rosary with Pope Benedict XVI via satellite from Vatican City March 1.

A funeral Mass will be offered March 5 for Monsignor James J. Cronin, a beloved pastor whose Irish wit and concern for his parishioners made him immensely popular.

HAGERSTOWN – In his first visit to Hagerstown since his Oct. 1 installation, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien celebrated Mass with the parishioners of St. Ann and encouraged them to support this year’s Archbishop’s Lenten Appeal.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI appealed for peace and security in Iraq after kidnappers abducted Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq, and killed the three people who were traveling with him.
LIMA, Peru – The idea of a “great continental mission,” which proved elusive when the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean met in Aparecida, Brazil, last year, is slowly taking shape, said the prelate responsible for its implementation.

MIAMI – Pardon the yawn, but that is how Cubans in Florida reacted to the news of Fidel Castro’s resignation as president of Cuba. “It’s a different dog with the same fleas,” said Monsignor Pedro Luis Perez, pastor of San Lazaro Parish in Hialeah, using a colloquial Spanish saying, “Es el mismo perro con otro collar.”

It was an up and down season for the Mount St. Joseph, Irvington, ice hockey team this year. According to longtime head coach Erv Terwilliger, who is in his 17th season with the program, “We played well through the first half of the season. We beat DeMatha early on, which was great but I think we underestimated the chemistry of our team.”
The spirituality of sustainability is the focus of a one-day conference in Baltimore on April 26.
St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore is gearing up for its annual fundraiser “Empty Bowls” March 15 to help operate its two facilities that aid the homeless.

WASHINGTON – In a presidential campaign where young people are being touted as a critical, active bloc of voters, students at Catholic colleges are equally caught up in the election fervor.
VATICAN CITY – Catholic aid agencies must offer their workers continual spiritual formation so those in need can witness God’s merciful love, Pope Benedict XVI said.
VATICAN CITY – The latest church statistics show that the number of priests and seminarians in the world continues to increase, but not as fast as the general Catholic population.
