John Thavis has been in St. Peter’s Square for the election of the last four popes, from John Paul I through Francis. 

A funeral Mass will be offered May 6 for Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia Mary Catherine Lewandowski. Formerly Sister Anne Christi, she died April 30 at age 84.

Archbishop William E. Lori will ordain five men transitional deacons during a special 10 a.m. Mass May 3 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. The liturgy marks the final step before their anticipated ordination to the priesthood next year. 

The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Office of Family, Youth and Young Adults is establishing the Archdiocesan Youth Missionary Protagonism Lab (AYMP Lab) to reverse the disturbing trend of disaffiliation among young people.

Maryland’s four Catholic universities will feature a gold medalist, two healthcare leaders and a noted biblical scholar as their 2025 commencement speakers.

 A funeral Mass was offered April 16 for Daughter of Charity Sister Elizabeth Ann (Shirley Elizabeth) Lingg in the Villa Chapel in Emmitsburg. Sister Elizabeth Ann, a pharmacist and hospital administrator, died April 2 at Villa St. Michael. She was 93.

Alumni and others connected to Calvert Hall College High School in Towson and to the De La Salle Christian Brothers mourned the April 12 death in Philadelphia of Chistian Brother Kevin Stanton at the age of 86, just three days shy of his 87th birthday.

Here in Western Maryland near the Appalachian Mountains, Bishop Parker began his priesthood as an associate pastor at St. Peter 25 years ago. Bishop Parker returned to what he called “his number one assignment” to celebrate his silver jubilee with an April 27 Mass. 

Mercy Medical Center drew accolades both nationally and locally for its nursing workforce and its work as a birthing hospital.

Teresa Ellen “Terry” Brashears, an Annapolis resident who found a second career in fundraising for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, died April 19 from injuries sustained in a car accident in Frederick County.