Closely watched off-year elections in several states will offer the first major opportunity for voters to weigh in at the ballot box since President Donald Trump began his second term — with cost-of-living, an area of Catholic social concern, once more playing a role.

Proclaiming his profession of faith and taking an oath of fidelity during his Oct. 28 installation Mass as rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Father Michael Romano’s promises echoed through the historic Immaculate Conception Chapel.

I won’t miss those skeletons on the neighborhood lawns. But I treasure remembering how close we are to our beloved, living and dead.

Across Europe, Catholic families are turning Halloween into a celebration of light, life and holiness. Known as “Holywins” — a play on “Holy” and “Halloween” — the movement began in Paris in 2002 and has since spread to Poland, Belgium, Italy, Spain and beyond.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged an international group of young adults to reach out to their peers and invite them to be active members of a parish community rather than trying to live their faith alone.