Offering his condolences, Pope Francis praised former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s Christian faith and his lifelong mission to advance peace.

Former President Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29 at his home in Plains, Georgia, his presidential library announced. At 100, Carter, who had been in hospice care since February 2023, was the longest-living U.S. president.

Father Devin was an associate pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Highlandtown and assist at the former nearby chapels of St. Gerard and Holy Redeemer from 1987 to 1988.

A funeral Mass for Conventual Franciscan Brother Michael Thomas Duffy will be offered Dec. 11, at 2 p.m., at the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City. Brother Michael died Dec. 6. He was 65.

Father McAndrews, who died Nov. 23 at age 96, is largely credited with putting the all-boys school on a path during his presidency (1979-98) to where it now is honored routinely as one of the best private educational institutions in Maryland.

A funeral Mass was offered Dec. 6 in Aston, Pa., for Sister Elaine Spangler, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 65 years, who died Nov. 30. The former Sister Carlos Marie was 90. 

Archbishop Thomas R. Zinkula of Dubuque released a message Nov. 27 stating “with a heavy heart” that Father Dennis Conway, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Cedar Rapids, had died in the rectory “by way of suicide.”

A funeral Mass for Sister M. Melissa Hester, a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was offered Nov. 25 at Our Lady of Peace Residence in Dunmore, Pa. Sister Melissa died Nov. 20. She was 101.

panish Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, who dedicated his priestly life and ministry to building bridges between Catholics and Muslims, died in Rome Nov. 25 at the age of 72.

A funeral Mass for Franciscan Father Vincent de Paul Cushing will be offered at noon on Nov. 23 at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring. Father Cushing died Nov. 14. He was 90.