Published in 1925, the yellowed and crumbling “Manual of Select Catholic Hymns and Devotions” had been tucked away on a dusty choir-loft shelf alongside stacks of old, unused sheet music. The hymnal’s binding had been broken long ago – a sign of frequent use in a parish that was once among the largest and most […]

When it was first announced in February that St. Michael Parish in Fells Point was closing and joining an expanding bilingual community at Sacred Heart of Jesus a mile away in Highlandtown, longtime parishioner Pamela Perc wasn’t sure what to do.

Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien issued a July 18 decree establishing Ss. Peter and Paul in Cumberland as an archdiocesan shrine. The shrine was established as a place of pilgrimage and to “foster the unique Catholic history of the Cumberland area,” the archbishop said.

Despite Deacon Richard Novak’s familiar injunction to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” few parishioners seemed eager to leave following the July 31 morning Mass at St. Michael in Fells Point.

Poland, one of Europe most Catholic nations, is facing new challenge in the practice of the faith as more people turn to Western secularization.