Medals of Honor that highlight the work of clergy and lay people in the Archdiocese of Baltimore will return with 12 people being recognized for liturgy, evangelization, education, service and stewardship.

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.

That exchange with those grieving parents has had a deep impact on my Holy Week. The way the pope holds the mother and reaches out to the father shows such compassion and love. The way he pauses to pray with them as if they are the only people in the world is such a beautiful gift.

Leading lawmakers in the General Assembly agreed March 31 to fund the BOOST (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today) Scholarship program at $9 million – $1 million more than had been proposed by Gov. Wes Moore, but $1 million less than last year.

Pope Francis has named Dominican Sister Helen Alford, dean of the faculty of social sciences at the Angelicum University in Rome, to be president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.