Is Catholic education special? Eileen D’Andrea always thought it was, and she was thrilled after listening to Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, speak on the value of Catholic education during a Sept. 10 presentation that attracted about 100 people to Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson.

Sister Mary Elizabeth Sallese recently started her new ministry as Archbishop William E. Lori’s Delegate for Religious, a role that will have her working as the liaison between the archdiocese and the many religious communities ministering in the region.

Robert Worden’s new book, “Soldiers of the Cross: Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos and the Catholic Community in Annapolis During the Civil War” (Gatekeeper Press) dives into the complicated history of St. Mary’s during the Civil War.

The back-to-school event also marked the start of PIE Giving Day with the goal to create 60 new scholarships, Viviano said. Members of the PIE board would match each gift up to $25,000 – a goal that was met that same day.

A ministry of the Conventual Franciscans, Little Portion Farm is located near the religious community’s St. Anthony Shrine. Since its first harvest in 2019, the farm has grown more than 100,000 pounds of produce that was donated to the Franciscan Center in Baltimore.

The festive scene in Severna Park also played out at four other Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore as the Catholic community celebrated having five of its schools named 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools.

A large statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton that previously stood on the grounds of two now-closed Catholic schools has a new home at Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg, where it sits in the school’s annex surrounded by flowers. 

George Matysek talks about Sexton’s Lodge Café with Father Brendan Fitzgerald, rector of the Baltimore Basilica, and Maria Veres, director of mission advancement for the basilica.

A funeral Mass was offered Sept. 10 for School Sister of Notre Dame Maria Natividad Aponte at Villa Assumpta in Towson. She died Sept. 2 at 99 after serving more than 70 years in Maryland, Pennsylvania and her native Puerto Rico.

Priests and deacons throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore take a wide variety of approaches to packing punch in their homilies. Some, including Father Murphy, sprinkle pop culture references into their messages. Others place the readings into historical context or explain how doctrinal or moral teachings apply in an increasingly secularized culture.