A funeral Mass for Conventual Franciscan Brother Charles Raymond Madden was offered Jan. 19 at the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Libertyville, Ill. Brother Charles died Jan. 13. He was 83.

Sister M. Elsa Eckenrode of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary died on Jan. 17 in Scranton, PA. She would have been 99 on Jan. 27.

While in Baltimore, Brother Brian was a teacher, coach, counselor and administrator. He was inducted into the Mount St. Joseph Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.

Sister André, a Daughter of Charity and the world’s oldest known person, died at age 118, a spokesman of the nursing home where she died told AFP agency on Tuesday.

The death of Australian Cardinal George Pell was a shock because just five days earlier he had concelebrated the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI and “seemed in good health,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.

Pope Francis praised the late Australian Cardinal George Pell as a faithful servant of God and of the Catholic Church, who steadfastly followed the Lord even “in the hour of trial” when he was jailed for sexual abuse before his conviction was overturned by Australia’s highest court.

Sister Mary Barbara Campbell, a member of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died Dec. 29 in Scranton, Pa. Sister Mary Barbara, formerly known as Sister Mary Josella, was 95.

An 11 a.m. funeral Mass for Christian Brother William Fealy will be offered Jan. 2 at McManus Theatre at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson. Brother William died at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson Dec. 26. He was 80.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI, who had an impressive record as a teacher and defender of the basics of Catholic faith, is likely to go down in history books as the first pope in almost 600 years to resign.

Just a few hours after retired Pope Benedict XVI died in his Vatican residence Dec. 31, Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, provided a few early details of what to expect in the coming days.