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It was during the Great Depression when Virginia said “hi” to Sebastian LaRossa at a dance. She left to say hello to the bandleader, and when she walked back, Sebastian said to her, “You know I’m going to marry you.”

What started out as a one-time mission to rid Baltimore’s streets of firepower has become an enduring crusade for city parish St. Gregory the Great. Armed with grant money from a Baltimore attorney, the church has shelled out cash to citizens who’ve turned in guns, totaling more than 50 weapons in the past nine months. Officials hope to collect more when the parish holds its sixth gun buy-back 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 8.

NEW YORK – Ongoing debate about climate change “has helped put into focus the inescapable responsibility of one and all to care for the environment,” the Vatican’s U.N. nuncio told the U.N. General Assembly Feb. 13.

DEKALB, Ill. – As helicopters hovered noisily over the parking lot at Christ the Teacher Parish on the campus of Northern Illinois University, students, staff and parishioners gathered in the church to pray the rosary for victims of the Feb. 14 shooting on their campus.

VATICAN CITY – Americans will soon have their first close-up encounter with Pope Benedict XVI, a figure who, in the minds of many, is still coming into focus. Some view him as a vigilant pastor, one who has used virtually every medium possible – books and speeches, sermons and encyclicals – to guide Catholics back to the essential message of Jesus and the Gospel.

Similar to television’s version of “The Biggest Loser,” a priest and a youth minister are going head to head – or in this case stomach to stomach – in the St. John’s Largest Loser weight-loss contest not only to benefit charities of their choice, but their health and wellbeing as well.

Since Feb. 29 only falls on the calendar every four years, Sherry Strickler of Fort Meade rarely thinks about the unusual date – but she’s thinking about it in 2008. The 40-year-old parishioner of Our Lady of Peace, Fort Meade, was surprised to learn that Pope Gregory XIII is actually responsible for establishing the modern-day calendar, which adds an additional day every fourth year.