Mary Ellen Bilenki is a parishioner of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez in Woodstock and the mother of Deacon John Bilenki, a recently ordained transitional deacon for the Archdiocese of Baltimore who is expected to be ordained a priest for the archdiocese next year. She shares a parent’s perspective of watching a son journey toward the priesthood.

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori and the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops joined the chorus of leaders calling for “reasonable control measures” after the recent rash of mass shootings in the United States.

Reports from the archdiocesan Office of Child and Youth Protection and the Independent Review Board indicate that the archdiocese continues its efforts to educate about safe environments for young people and to screen clergy, employees and volunteers to determine suitability for ministry.

St. Wenceslaus has been a welcoming presence in East Baltimore for 150 years.

As St. Rita in Dundalk celebrates its 100th anniversary, there are plenty of examples of hardworking people who have helped keep the faith community strong over the decades.

Meeting the community’s needs has always been a high priority at St. Bernadette, which was founded in 1972 when Glen Burnie’s Holy Trinity Parish, one of the largest parishes in the archdiocese, was divided into five separate areas.

Deacon Kenneth Lukong considered studying modern letters or becoming a journalist, but as he looked at all those possibilities, he decided to follow the one he thought would bring him the most inner joy and fulfillment would be the priesthood.

Deacon Maurice Sunde Afor gets a kick out of combining his recreational passion with his ministry.

Deacon James Bors decided to devote the rest of his life to serving God and the church. He will be ordained to the priesthood June 18 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

Deacon Peter Kiamo-oh was attracted to the Catholic faith through the example of teachers and others at his school in Cameroon.