Father Anthony Gerard Jansen died Jan. 27. He was 98 and had spent 79 years in religious life.

A funeral Mass for Sister Edna Naomi Maier, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur for 67 years, will be offered Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus.

Two bills that conflict directly with Catholic values and the protection of life are progressing in the Maryland General Assembly.

A funeral Mass for Sister Vincentia Dorsey, a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, will be offered Feb. 13 at her religious community’s chapel in Scranton, Pa. Sister Vincentia died Feb. 7.She was 87.

A funeral Mass for Dominican Sister Catherine Thomas Dwyer was offered Feb. 7 at her religious community’s motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wis. Sister Catherine Thomas died Jan. 27. She was 88.

A funeral Mass for Franciscan Sister Nancy Crossen will be offered Feb. 14 at Assisi House in Aston, Pa. Sister Nancy (formerly Sister Mark Francis) died Feb. 7. She was 94 and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 74 years.

The lifelong Catholic has no judgment on those who have left after being abused, she said, nor does she want to diminish anyone else’s story. But she wants to encourage others who wish to continue in their faith journey even as they carry a pain she knows can be unbearable.

An 11 a.m. funeral Mass for Oblate Sister of Providence Margarita Musquera will be offered Feb. 8 at her religious community’s motherhouse in Arbutus. Sister Margarita died Jan. 29. She was 93.

As youngsters munched on salad and baked ziti during the “lunch-and-learn” event, the speakers encouraged them to view those in religious life as “regular people” called to devote their lives in service of God and the Catholic Church.

The St. Mary’s parish community is preparing to celebrate the bicentennial of the opening of the parish’s original church.