After the federal government declared a health emergency in 2020 over the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic churches in the U.S. scrambled to figure out how to provide the Eucharist, the sacrament that is the “source and summit of the Christian life” while keeping people safe from contagion.

Scott Kieffer, the director of discipleship for St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Community in Maple Grove, Minn., is 29 lakes away from completing his endeavor to pray a rosary in the 250 to 300 lakes in the Twin Cities urban metro area.

This was the 14th year teachers and staff members from the archdiocese’s elementary and secondary schools gathered before the start of the school year, which this year begins Aug. 26. 

Emma Ward is filled with joy to share that she laughs every single day when she’s teaching her first-graders at St. Joseph School in Cockeysville.

Philip Bressler, an economics teacher at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, believes every student is entitled to an excellent education and is ready to be challenged.