Music

Faith-filled surfer inspires Hollywood star, director
Apr 23 2011
SAN DIEGO – When Dennis Quaid agreed to star in the new film “Soul Surfer,” it represented a career first: the only time the actor had ever accepted a role before reading the script.

Basilica Place marks 30 years of making a home for seniors
Apr 21 2011
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 30 years since Catholic Charities first put into bricks and mortar its belief that everyone is entitled to a home.

St. Mary’s Seminary commemorates Shoah
Apr 20 2011
St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park remembered the victims of the Holocaust, or Shoah, with its 26th annual Yom HaShoah Memorial April 13.

Chrism Mass celebrates priestly unity
Apr 19 2011
As approximately 170 priests renewed their vows during the April 18 Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien choked up for a fleeting moment when he prayed that he would fulfill his office despite his own “unworthiness” – becoming more like the High Priest and Good Shepherd for the priests and people he serves.

Youth pilgrimage opens eyes, hearts in Cumberland
Apr 13 2011
CUMBERLAND – Young Catholics from across Allegany and Garrett counties put their faith on display April 9.

Notre Dame Preparatory set to premiere musical work
Apr 06 2011
TOWSON – As a composer, William Watson spends months, if not years, with a piece inside his head, wondering what it would sound like with a full orchestra and chorus.

Robert Twynham, acclaimed Baltimore composer and musician, dies at 80
Mar 29 2011
Robert Twynham, an internationally known composer of liturgical music and the longtime music director at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, died March 23. He was 80. A memorial Mass is being planned for early May at Corpus Christi in Baltimore, his home parish.

Bad bookworms: Precious library collection on Christian East risks ruin
Mar 27 2011
VATICAN CITY – The Pontifical Oriental Institute has the best general collection in the world on Eastern Christianity.

Cannes Film Festival grand-prize winner ‘Of Gods and Men’ had ‘monastic adviser’ on set
Mar 25 2011
WASHINGTON – “Of Gods and Men,” the Cannes Film Festival grand prize-winning feature now debuting across the country, had a “monastic adviser” on the set to help faithfully depict the lives of the French monks whose story is at the heart of the movie.

Boston Archdiocese, Daughters of St. Paul in dispute over pension funds
Mar 24 2011
BOSTON – The Boston Archdiocese and members of the Daughters of St. Paul were scheduled to go before a mediator March 29 to resolve a number of issues in a dispute over pension funds.

Communicating word of God is Oregon priest’s passion as calligrapher
Mar 21 2011
PORTLAND, Ore. – In the morning cold of a farmhouse in the foothills of the Cascades, his hand is stiff as he grasps the broad-edged pen. His eyes have aged. But the 78-year-old priest and calligraphy master plans to write until he dies.

WYD organizers expect more than 1 million in Madrid
Mar 17 2011
VATICAN CITY – With more than 1 million Catholic youths expected to converge on Madrid for World Youth Day in August, organizers are busy making final preparations, including the choice of new songs for the crowds to sing in addition to the much-criticized official hymn.

Mount seminarians cull leadership lessons from Civil War authority
Mar 11 2011
EMMITSBURG – In battle, inexperienced soldiers who prove willing and able to lead are soon at the head of their division. Today’s shortage of priests is no different – and an expert in Civil War battlefield leadership is imparting those lessons to a group of today’s seminarians.

Friends, fellow parishioners of slain California couple feel an ‘emptiness’
Mar 05 2011
LOS ANGELES – In the weeks following the death of Scott and Jean Adam, memories of the gregarious sailing couple and the inspiration they gave others remained strong in the hearts and minds of their friends and fellow parishioners.

Empty Bowls fill souls
Feb 28 2011
A simple soup bowl – and the person who donates or buys it – can alleviate hunger. Or it can remain empty, as do the stomachs of too many people right here in Baltimore.