Encouraging students to reach out to others through community service has always been a critical part of Catholic education. This year, however, helping others is getting even more attention as the Archdiocese of Baltimore has declared the 2018-19 school year a “Year of Service.”

Educators gathered at the Church of the Nativity in Timonium for the eighth-annual convocation to kick off the 2018-19 year.

Kelly serves on the executive committee of St. Peter Claver/St. Pius V Parish, and is chief executive officer of No Boundaries, an 8-year-old nonprofit that has grown from an organizer of block parties into an advocate for education, health, recovery and safety, as well as accountability among police and public officials. 

Musical acts, a zipline, a dunk-a-seminarian booth and fireworks are among the attractions at the first Faith Fest, a Sept. 16 festival sponsored by the parishes of Harford County.

Archbishop William E. Lori has set aside Sept. 7 as a Day of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“Our country is far from perfect, but to many it is a beacon of hope and freedom,” Archbishop Lori said.

Sister Michelle Carroll, founding principal of Mercy High School in Baltimore, died Aug. 23. She was 96, and had served as a Sister of Mercy for 73 years.

Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore welcomed approximately 220 freshmen this year, the largest incoming class to enter the university in its 124-year history.

Jesuit Father Francis Schemel, who taught German at Loyola Blakefield in Towson in the 1960s, died Aug. 4 after 60 years as a priest.

For the first time since 2012, the Mountaineers took the field in an NCAA game Aug. 24, when they played host to Bucknell at Waldron Family Stadium and lost, 2-0.