In attempting his 20th crossing June 8, my cousin began having problems about a mile into the swim. Rescuers could not revive him, and he died at age 58. He leaves behind a wife of 31 years.

One hundred years ago on St. Valentine’s Day, George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. began his meteoric rise in professional baseball when he signed a contract with the minor league Baltimore Orioles.

When we adopted our first son, I fielded strangers’ questions about adoption all the time.I assumed that after we adopted our second son, the questions would continue, but I was wrong. When we are out in public, I am so busy keeping my children safe and from damaging their surroundings,

For the past few months, ever since my sister and her husband told us they were expecting a baby, my sons have been looking forward to meeting their new cousin.Nothing is more exciting than a new baby, and for our sons, this would be their first cousin living in town,

Chris was one of my greatest mentors. I learned more from reading his eloquent prose and sitting next to him at the Catholic Review than I did in any writing course. More than that, he became a friend.

For years, a tattered and taped copy of the Aug. 30, 1902, issue of The Catholic Mirror has jockeyed for attention on my sometimes-cluttered desk at the Catholic Review.

Father Dale Picarella had just finished greeting a mob of parishioners at the end of Mass when I approached him in the sacristy with a special request. Would he visit my mother at Bayview Medical Center in East Baltimore as she was recovering from cancer surgery?

When John and I met, we had jobs that were more than 100 miles—and a two-hour drive—apart. So after we became engaged, we both started job hunting.A friend or family member must have mentioned that St. Joseph was the patron of workers, so I began saying a daily novena to

The goodness and humility witnessed by the future Baltimore archbishop were on display for all the world Feb. 11 when Pope Benedict XVI quietly announced in Latin that he would step down due to his advanced age and lack of stamina.

 When I say I knew John was going to propose, I’m not boasting about my great detective work.I mean I knew.We had met with Fr. Lawrence Adamczyk that morning about celebrating our wedding.We had reserved the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and booked the reception site.And John had made reservations