Music

Dual-language immersion seen as ‘win-win-win’ for Catholic education
Jan 22 2012
SEATTLE – Teaching half the school day in English and half in Spanish could be a boon for Catholic education in the United States, according to a Hispanic educator.

Philly school mergers, closures signal new model of Catholic education
Jan 10 2012
PHILADELPHIA – Jan. 6, traditionally celebrated as Epiphany, represented a true epiphany for thousands of Catholic school parents and students in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

‘Haute Sphere’ Nativity artwork gets US debut at Los Angeles cathedral
Dec 23 2011
LOS ANGELES - “Haute Sphere,” a contemporary interpretation of the Nativity scene conceived by architect Sylvain Dubuisson and crafted by French porcelain manufacturer Bernardaud, made its U.S. debut at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.

Carols of Christmas herald Good News
Dec 22 2011
The classic mystery begins, “It was a dark and stormy night.” But the mystery we celebrate this week begins, “It was a silent and holy night. All was calm; all was bright.”

Country star wanted newest album to sound ‘like you were in church’
Dec 21 2011
WASHINGTON – Collin Raye, the Catholic country singer who had a string of hits in the 1990s, said he wanted to make his latest album “feel like you were in church for an hour or so.”

“Posada” draws attention to need for immigration reform
Dec 20 2011
CHICAGO – Catholic advocates for immigration reform used a Dec. 16 “posada,” a traditional Mexican re-enactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter in Bethlehem, to demonstrate the need to change the immigration system.

Camp GLOW lights the Christmas spirit
Dec 20 2011
SPARKS – Bill Fleming didn’t need to finish his sentence. As he welcomed people to the Camp GLOW Christmas Party at the Monsignor O’Dwyer Retreat House Dec. 18, he told them a special guest was on his way.

A life-changing event
Dec 15 2011
The National Catholic Youth Conference also known as NCYC was held in Indianapolis, Ind. The National Catholic Youth Conference is an exciting, three-day experience of prayer, community and empowerment for Catholic teenagers and adult chaperones. NCYC is open to high school age young people and the chaperones. Most participants are Catholic. Many youth participants are leaders in their local parishes, schools and/or diocese. I went with my church, St. Cecilia’s Roman Catholic Church. I also learned that many people are just beginning to connect to their faith and relationship with God.

Filipino Catholic has gift of making sacred images appear on rose petals
Dec 14 2011
SANTA MARIA, Philippines – In the early afternoon on a recent Saturday, an endless line of believers gathered at the altar of the Shrine of the Mother of the Eucharist and Grace.

Our Lady of Guadalupe has home in Highlandtown
Dec 13 2011
Father Robert Wojtek is getting used to overflowing crowds at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Highlandtown during Spanish Masses.

A life-changing event
Dec 08 2011
The National Catholic Youth Conference also known as NCYC was held in Indianapolis, Ind. The National Catholic Youth Conference is an exciting, three-day experience of prayer, community and empowerment for Catholic teenagers and adult chaperones. NCYC is open to high school age young people and the chaperones. Most participants are Catholic. Many youth participants are leaders in their local parishes, schools and/or diocese. I went with my church, St. Cecilia’s Roman Catholic Church. I also learned that many people are just beginning to connect to their faith and relationship with God.

Youth ‘Focus’ on Vocations
Dec 01 2011
A study conducted in the 1980s indicated that most priests and religious first seriously thought about ministry around the age of 11 and then again in their junior year of high school. Two years after that study, “Focus 11” was born. First instituted in the Archdiocese of Detroit, the program had two components: one aimed at 11-year-olds and one at 11th graders. It consisted of lesson plans, exercises, and prayer services designed to help our children explore this radical expression of their faith.

CHURCH CHATTER: Hunt Valley parishioner benefits Aquarium
Dec 01 2011
Greg Pierce, a parishioner of the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier in Hunt Valley, produced “Sea Notes,” a music CD that features songs written specifically for the National Aquarium in Baltimore’s exhibit “Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out of Balance.”

Archdiocesan youths take part in country’s biggest sendoff of Mass translation
Nov 21 2011
INDIANAPOLIS – All her life, Sara Connelly has known just one translation of the Roman Missal. On Nov. 19, she took part in perhaps the biggest goodbye to the way U.S. Catholics have celebrated the Mass since the 1960s.

Zumba inspires girls to get moving
Nov 17 2011
Throwing their hands in the air and moving their hips in time to syncopated Latin beats and African rhythms, fourth- and fifth-graders at Holy Angels Catholic School in Baltimore caught the Zumba craze during a special after-school class Oct. 20.