In an era of intense conflict during the Counter-Reformation, St. Ignatius viewed the church’s role as a summons for believers to strive to be the best Christians they could be – an imperative the late Pope Francis embraced as his own, Father Stephen Spahn said.

Black bunting draped the front of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland April 21 as hundreds gathered for an evening Mass of Remembrance in honor of Pope Francis, who died earlier that morning.

Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien, former archbishop of Baltimore and retired grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher based at the Vatican, remembered Pope Francis as a leader whose years in office had a major impact.

Pilgrims and tourists who had just one day earlier flocked to St. Peter’s Square awoke to the news that Pope Francis, who had greeted them there on Easter Sunday, had died. Pope Francis died at at 88, a few weeks after returning to his apartment at the Vatican following a five-week hospitalization for pneumonia.

George Matysek discusses the reasons for the change to a lower confirmation age with Stacy Golden, director of the Office of Family, Youth and Young Adult Ministry within the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Institute for Evangelization, and Kenn deMoll, director of formation and innovation at St. John in Westminster – a parish that has already implemented the lower age for confirmation as part of a pilot program.

A special Mass remembering the late pontiff will be held April 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. Pope Francis died earlier that day at the age of 88.

Bishop Adam J. Parker and  Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., both of whom were appointed bishops by Pope Francis, are remembering their personal encounters with the late pope as inspirational moments that helped shape their ministries. 

Archbishop William E. Lori said that Pope Francis could be readily described as a “pastoral pope,” a sense of service that he brought from his years as an archbishop in Argentina who was close to his priests and people.

Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori said April 21 that he was saddened to learn of Pope Francis’ passing and that he plans to attend his funeral as well as host a memorial Mass locally.

A major milestone for the Brick Chapel – a landmark of faith that symbolizes Maryland’s status as a birthplace of religious freedom in the United States – unfolded that day, as the chapel’s interior features were unveiled, culminating more than four decades of historical research, archaeological excavation and painstaking reconstruction work.