In a court hearing Dec. 18, Judge Michelle M. Harner said she would make an order setting May 31 as the “bar date” in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization case. The move sets the deadline by which anyone who has a claim against the archdiocese – including anyone who was abused before Sept. 29, 2023, by clergy, religious or employees in the archdiocese – must submit a claim to be included in the potential settlement.

Five Things to Know about the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s stop in the Archdiocese of Baltimore:

The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced in September that St. Maria Goretti High School in Hagerstown would be closing. An independent committee organized by school supporters investigated keeping the school open as an independent Catholic school, but it concluded in November that it was not feasible, and the decision was made to close.

Catholic Charities of Maryland Executive Director, William J. “Bill” McCarthy Jr. announced May 23 he will retire in July 2025. By that time, he will have led the State of Maryland’s largest private provider of human services for 16 years.

Redemptorist Father Thomas Joseph Siconolfi, who died May 12 at age 80, was a former pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Annapolis, one of the largest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where he served from 1993 to 1999.

Baltimore-area Catholics reacted with a mix of disappointment, relief and resignation after the archdiocese announced the final plan for the Seek the City to Come initiative May 22.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore revealed the final plan May 22 for parish planning in Baltimore City, with 23 parishes at 30 worship sites, about half the current number of churches available for Sunday Mass.

The Seek the City to Come plan announced May 22 realigns Catholic parishes throughout Baltimore City and some nearby communities in Baltimore County. Pastoral leadership for each location will be determined in the future. For now, the new parishes will take on the name of the church where it is sited, but the parishioners of the newly formed entity can eventually petition to change that name.

An archdiocesan leadership committee is in the process of interviewing companies to catalog and photograph items and property in the 61 parishes involved in the Seek the City initiative. Those items include everything from chalices to altars, pews, statues, paintings and Stations of the Cross images.

As new parishes emerge from the recently unveiled Seek the City to Come plan for revitalizing the Catholic Church in the Baltimore metropolitan area, archdiocesan leaders are encouraging the newly forming faith communities to embrace an approach to evangelization that emulates the spirit of the apostolic age.