Dominican Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, known as the “father of liberation theology,” which rose to prominence in South America in the 1960s and 1970s as a way of responding to the needs of Latin America’s poor, died Oct. 22 at age 96.

A funeral Mass for Franciscan Sister ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Frances Schiminsky (formerly Sister Ann Philip), will be offered Oct. 25 at Assisi House in Aston, Pa. Sister Frances died Oct. 21. She was 95 and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 76 years.

In the majestic Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington during an Oct. 16 celebration of life for Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the singer Stevie Wonder honored his friend by singing the Our Father accompanied by a harpist, and then leading the congregation in a rousing version of “Isn’t She Lovely.”

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, a human rights activist and mother of 11, died Oct. 10, her family said. She was 96.

Monsignor James W. Hannon, a former pastor and director of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s clergy personnel office who was beloved for his pastoral presence to people, died Oct. 6.

A beloved NBA superstar who got his start on the Georgetown University courts died Sept. 30. Dikembe Mutombo, class of 1991, passed away at age 58 from brain cancer.

A funeral Mass for Marianist Father Christian Aloysius “Cris” Janson was offered Sept. 22 at Holy Rosary Church in San Antonio, Texas. Father Janson died Sept. 14. He was 83.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Brother Daniel entered the Xaverian Brothers in July 1957, receiving his religious name, Brother Rian. He was a teacher and chief financial officer of Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore 1978-86.

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.

A funeral Mass was offered Sept. 12 for School Sister of Notre Dame Judith Schaum, a teacher and administrator at several schools in her native Baltimore who also served as a longtime assistant superintendent of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. She died Sept. 4 at age 85.