In a summer of firsts, mountain-climbing Benedictine monks of Mount Angel Abbey took to the heights — their locally brewed beer tucked in backpacks — ascending renowned peaks in the Pacific Northwest during the season’s brief window of opportunity.

Thea LaFond-Gadson took home the gold in the women’s triple jump during the Paris Olympics this past summer. LaFond-Gadson, who was born in Dominica, made history by winning the Caribbean island nation’s first Olympic medal.

At the funeral Mass of deceased brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Sept. 9 at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Media, however, it was their wives who emulated the aforementioned attributes as they took turns giving words of remembrance for their fallen husbands.

With Paralympic Games closing in Paris Sept. 8, more than a monthlong Olympic adventure is over. But the spirit of the Games will resonate in the French Catholic Church for much longer — thanks to the disabled who participated in church initiatives with great enthusiasm.

For the third straight year, the Archdiocese of Baltimore will host a kickball tournament for adults ages 18-35 at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park.

As family, friends, teammates, coaches, media, acquaintances and even strangers struggled mightily to make sense of the devastating tragedy Aug. 29 that took the lives of National Hockey League star Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother, Matthew, 29, no expression adequately conveyed the sense of loss that tore apart the fabric of a popular, much-loved family with deep Catholic roots.

St. Frances Academy has nine former players, including seven rookies, trying to make a roster in the National Football League.

During the Paris Olympic Games, track and field champions rang the bronze bell located close to the finish line at Saint-Denis’ Stade de France. In December, that same bell will ring in the newly reopened Notre Dame Cathedral during the most sacred part of the Mass.

Retired Baltimore sportscaster Mark Viviano, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park, spoke with George Matysek about his career and his decision to leave it behind.

Paris wrapped its Olympic Games bursting with pride, closing the Games at Stade de France — a more traditional setting than the Seine River, where the opening ceremony took place.