Tammy Mellema is more than just the office administrator at New Cathedral Cemetery in Baltimore. She’s the “detective of the dead.” Her nickname, coined by a fellow colleague, comes from her longtime passion for genealogy, the study of family history, ancestry and lineages over generations.

Such tales prove nothing, but as Catholics prepare to pray for the dead on All Souls’ Day, they point toward what the Church believes about death: the soul never ceases to exist, the bond between the living and the dead is not broken, and the living can still pray for those who have gone before.

As dusk fell on the mountains surrounding the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg Oct. 9, a wise old woman standing outside of the shrine’s cemetery warned those who passed to “listen closely.”

In a new episode of Catholic Review Radio, host Christopher Gunty talks with two authors who discuss ways to live a Catholic life these days.

Nearly eight months after Pope Leo XIV appointed him apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia visited Baltimore Oct. 25, offering a reminder of the Holy See’s close ties to the nation’s oldest Catholic see.

As the Partners In Excellence scholarship program celebrated 30 years of helping students from families with limited financial means access a Catholic education, two of its beneficiary schools took the spotlight Oct. 24 at Baltimore’s Under Armour Stadium. And when the inaugural PIE Homecoming Classic ended, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School had delivered a statement performance, defeating Archbishop Curley High School 30-7.

Of average height and with thick white hair, Sister Norma Pimentel of the Missionaries of Jesus is not an imposing figure. Her soft, steady voice, however, captivated the audience at Church of the Nativity Oct. 21, as she shared stories about working with refugees in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

Sister Michael taught elementary grades in Baltimore City at Ss. Phillip and James School, St. Katharine School, and Shrine of the Little Flower School. in Baltimore. She then taught at Immaculate Conception School in Towson and St. Clement Mary Hofbauer School in Rosedale. Following a few years teaching in Bethesda, Sister Michael returned to St. Clement as principal of the school for 23 years. After her time at St. Clement, she spent more than a decade volunteering at The Catholic High School of Baltimore.

A historic Spanish-mission style home sits on 25th Street in North Arlington not far from Marymount University. In 1907, Frank Lyon had it built as his family home. 

Though only steps away at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Monsignor James Farmer arrived late to a luncheon in his honor at the Catholic Center Oct. 18. The longtime pro-life advocate had remained at the basilica to celebrate a baptism for a family friend just minutes after receiving the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Culture of Life Medal of Honor during the annual Life is Beautiful Mass.