According to longtime parishioner Jo Anne Stanton, “All are Welcome” is not just a slogan, but a way of life for the community of St. Matthew in Northwood, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

For Deacon Zachary Essex Watson, ministering as a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore will be an opportunity to serve a church he calls a beacon of hope to the world.

The idea of an itinerant preacher, traveling through the mountains on horseback to deliver the Good News of the Gospel, may seem like a cinematic ideal; but for Deacon Lenin Andres Suarez, it was the way he spent most of his seminary holidays in the Andes Mountains of Colombia.

Church of the Resurrection, with 2,400 registered families, is linked to history that dates to 1838, when St. Paul (Resurrection’s “mother church”) was founded in Old Ellicott City, where it remains today. St. Paul and Church of the Resurrection became a pastorate in 2019.

Deacon Misulia’s family subculture fostered a strong sense of spirituality as well. He remembers attending daily Mass during summer vacation and sharing a holy hour with his parents and four brothers at the adoration chapel in his home parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Libertytown.

Dylan Beard says his Olympic dreams “start with God and stay with God.” Those Olympic dreams, which started in the Archdiocese of Baltimore at Archbishop Spalding High School, are just a couple races away from fruition.

Deacon Franz Josef Basalo Belleza enjoys a leisurely stroll or jog during his downtime, but he says his journey to the priesthood has been “no walk in the park.”

Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talked with Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., vicar for Baltimore City, about how the Seek the City to Come plan will be implemented and about its impact on Black and Hispanic communities.

Deacon Daniel Andrades looks forward to his ordination to the priesthood June 22 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland as a gift that will be reciprocated.

During his diaconate year at Sacred Heart in Glyndon, Deacon Acuña has been blessed to assist his community sacramentally by performing house blessings, baptisms and other pastoral duties that are often delegated to deacons; but he admits that this has made him even more eager to receive the apostolic authority of the Church, so that he can fully serve his parish community in his vocation as Priest.