HULBERT, Okla. – With a crisp spring breeze in the air, more than 175 volunteers from throughout the southwestern United States came together March 10 to assist the Benedictine monks of Our Lady of Clear Creek Monastery near Hulbert in northeastern Oklahoma. The effort, which was organized by Tulsan Dan Doyle, assisted the monks with...Read More

LOS ANGELES – Buoyed by the resounding defeat of an assisted suicide bill in Vermont March 21, opponents of AB 374 – the California Compassionate Choices Act – are stepping up statewide campaign efforts against the measure proposing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. Members of Californians Against Assisted Suicide, a diverse coalition that includes medical...Read More

After six years of retirement in Florida, Dave and Phyllis Gemmell returned to Catonsville in 2002 to be closer to their children and grandchildren, and wound up as devoted volunteers for their adopted parish, St. Benedict in Baltimore. The couple says the community spirit in their parish is so strong, it inspires them to help...Read More

Serving as host of the National Catholic Educational Association’s 104th convention and exposition brings a lot of benefits to Baltimore, according to Dr. Ronald J. Valenti, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Not only will the archdiocese get to showcase its rich educational history and experience April 10-13, Baltimore teachers will be...Read More

Although the entire room calls Dorothy Dixon “Grandma,” she has no grandchildren. The 91-year-old soup kitchen coordinator answers to the pet name from some 100 community members who visit St. Cecilia, Baltimore, on Thursdays to eat a hot supper. The lively Ms. Dixon, dressed from neck to foot in red including blazer, sweater, skirt and...Read More

Attendees sometimes find themselves standing in the hallway outside Sister Carol Cimino’s, S.S.J., meeting room as she delivers engaging sessions to packed audiences during the annual National Catholic Educational Association convention. The Clifton Park, N.Y., educational consultant “always draws a huge crowd,” said Brian Gray, editor of NCEA’s Momentum Magazine and part of the communication...Read More

Not a day goes by when Pat Evans doesn’t receive phone calls and e-mails about ranger rosaries. Ever since the parishioner of St. Mary in Annapolis made a public plea for help crafting the military-style prayer beads, Ms. Evans has been flooded with inquiries from just about every state and several countries including Italy and...Read More

Though Catholic groups formed educational instruction in Baltimore in the 1790s, most educators consider a city school on Paca Street founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1806 as the cradle of U.S. Catholic education. In founding St. Frances Academy in Baltimore in 1828, Mother Mary Lange officially offered Catholic education to children of color...Read More