obituaries
Sister Hannah Ruth Smith dies at 86
A funeral Mass for Sister Hannah Ruth Smith, a member of the All Saints Sisters of the Poor for 63 years, was offered Feb. 28 at the All Saints Convent Chapel in Catonsville. Sister Hannah died Feb. 20 following a brief illness. She was 86.
Sulpician Father Louis Reitz dies at 93
A funeral Mass for Sulpician Father Louis M. Reitz will be offered at 11 a.m. on April 5 at Our Lady of the Angels in Catonsville. Father Reitz died March 27.
Sister Regina Marie de l’Eucharistie Loftus dies at 86
A funeral Mass for Little Sister of the Poor Regina Marie de l’Eucharistie Loftus will be offered March 31 at 10:30 a.m. in the chapel of St. Martin’s Home for the Aged in Catonsville. Sister Regina died March 27. She was 86.
New Orleans Auxiliary Bishop Cheri dies at 71; archbishop thanks God ‘for his life, ministry’
Bishop Fernand (Ferd) Joseph Cheri III, a New Orleans native who had served since 2015 as auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, died March 21 at Chateau de Notre Dame in New Orleans following a lengthy illness. He was 71.
Sister Joan Cooper, O.S.F., dies at 94
An 11 a.m. funeral Mass for Franciscan Sister Joan Cooper will be offered at Assisi House in Aston, Pa., March 27. Sister Joan died March 18. She was 94 and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for more than 72 years.
Sister Elizabeth Ellen Kane, O.S.F., dies at 81
A funeral Mass for Franciscan Sister Elizabeth “Betty” Ellen Kane (formerly Sister Paul Anthony) will be offered at 11 a.m. on March 23 at Assisi House in Aston, Pa. Sister Betty died March 17.
Sister Mary Kathleen Marie Saffa dies at 86
A funeral Mass for Daughter of Charity Sister Kathleen Marie (Marie Kathleen) Saffa was offered March 9 at the Villa St. Michael Chapel in Emmitsburg. Sister Kathleen Marie died March 6.
Sister Mary Charia Ripple, S.S.N.D., former principal, dies at 96
Sister Mary Charia served as a teacher at St. Mary School in Hagerstown (1963-64), a teacher at St. Ambrose School in Baltimore (1964-65), an administrator of special education at St. Ann School in Baltimore (1965-72), an administrator of special education for the Archdiocese of Baltimore (1970-72), principal of St. Jane Frances School in Riviera Beach (1972-76) and a teacher at St. Augustine School in Elkridge (1976-77).
Monsignor Burke leaves legacy of striving for social justice, devotion to city parish
Monsignor William F. Burke’s easy-going style enabled him to lead a Northeast Baltimore parish for more than four decades while serving as the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s driving force for social justice, according to those beside whom he served and labored. Monsignor Burke, a Baltimore native and mentor to dozens of the region’s priests, died March […]
Thousands gather at funeral Mass for LA’s Bishop O’Connell, recalled as ‘soul friend’ to all
Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O’Connell was remembered as a man “gripped by grace” and “at ease with movers and shakers and also with the moved and shaken” as nearly 5,000 attended a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels March 3.