As nine candidates knelt before Cardinal William H. Keeler May 19, the archbishop of Baltimore placed his hands on each man’s head and ordained them a deacon. Thunderous applause reverberated throughout the packed Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Homeland, during the 10 a.m. Ordination to the Diaconate, after each of the nine candidates completed his four-year odyssey to serve the Archdiocese of Baltimore. All nine men were deemed worthy to administer the sacred ministries in the archdiocese by Father Patrick M. Carrion, director of deacon formation.

When Father Mueller needs to unwind from a long day’s work, music is his refuge. Playing mostly by ear, the priest has enjoyed playing the tuba and piano for many years and he’s now working on sharpening his skills on the clarinet.

As Father Edward M. Miller prepares the homily he will deliver at the May 10 funeral Mass for his friend of 40 years – Father John Anthony Delclos – the pastor of St. Bernardine, Baltimore, reflects on how the 67-year-old retired priest was able to take the complexity out of religion and make it easy for the faithful to comprehend.

Jumping into parish life at Ss. Philip and James in Baltimore helped convince Father Joseph Cosgrove he might be called to the priesthood.

The Catholic Review received several top honors for news writing, photography, page design and advertising from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association at the regional press association’s annual awards convocation, April 26-27 in Ellicott City. The Catholic Review competed in a division with non-daily newspapers with a circulation of 20,000 or more.

Sixty-three graduating seniors representing 21 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore were recognized as “distinctive scholars” for their academic excellence and leadership. The awards were presented April 24 during convocation at Towson Catholic High School. Three students from each school received the award. Bishop W. Francis Malooly, western vicar, led a vespers service at the event and Monsignor F. Dennis Tinder, pastor of Immaculate Conception in Towson, served as emcee at the event.

A new project at St. Athanasius, Curtis Bay, is expected to bring a little more green to the planet, parish grounds and church coffers. With the delivery of a green and orange dumpster in the St. Athanasius parking lot last month, parishioners have been eagerly disposing their discarded paper products by the ton in a recycling effort they hope will create a more vibrant environment locally and globally.

“I was glad to be at a Catholic school where Christ was at the center,” he said. “The students were incredibly resilient. It was really clear that their faith in Christ was the foundation for everything.”

As he sits on the blue couch in his Walkersville home watching “Jeopardy! America’s favorite quiz show,” Scott Weiss knows most of the answers. “Being in front of everyone on the planet on TV on the show – that’s a different kind of thing!” said the assistant professor in the department of mathematics and computer science at Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, who was a recent contestant on “Jeopardy!” The 36-year-old garnered winnings of $63,000 over four rounds.

Sen. Alex X. Mooney knows he’s the man of the hour in the death penalty debate.