Traditional Latin Mass in Maryland

This article was posted today on the Archdiocesan website : Pope Benedict XVI Will Recognize Baltimore’s Anniversary During Historic Visit April 15-20 03/28/2008 Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, unveiled the official logo and program commemorating the Premier See of Baltimore’s 200th anniversary as an Archdiocese at a press conference at the Baltimore Basilica earlier today. The program of events kicks off the weekend preceding Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival to the United States with a ground-breaking ceremony on Friday, April 11 at 11 a.m. at the future site of the Pope John Paul II Prayer Garden, located at Charles and Franklin Streets. On Saturday, April 12 at 2 p.m. an exhibit commemorating the anniversary will be unveiled at St. Mary’s Seminary’s Laubacher Hall. The weekend culminates on Sunday with two events: The Anniversary Mass at the Basilica at 10:45 a.m., followed by the dedication of a bust honoring Cardinal William H. Ke

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien writes a weekly column for the Archdiocesan paper, The Catholic Review . This week's column concerns a support group called "EnCouragement." It is a moving essay and is well worth reading. EnCourage is an offshoot of “Courage,” founded in 1980 and now worldwide, to present and promote faithfully the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and to give every support to Catholics seeking to live up to those teachings. Recently, I was pleased to celebrate Mass for a group of EnCourage members who meet monthly in the Archdiocese of Baltimore under the guidance of one of our priests. Most of the members of EnCourage are parents who have homosexually active children. I sat in on their discussion which followed the Mass, and I came away deeply impressed by the strength of their faith. All the participants are making every effort to maintain a strong, loving relationship with their children. They are committed to the Church’s consistent teaching that h

The Sitemeter indicates that some visitors are wondering who the Archbishop of Baltimore might be? The Archbishop was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on July 12, 2007 and was installed as Archbishop on October 1, 2007. The Archbishop had previously been Archbishop of the United States of America Military Archdiocese. The marvelous website, Catholic Hierarchy, has the full details on his links to the Apostolic Succession and includes his Consecrator (John Joseph Cardinal O'Connor) and Co-Consecrators as Bishop in the Archdiocese of New York in 1996. www.Catholic-Hierarchy.org

In checking my Sitemeter blog logs for yesterday, I was stunned to see the number of individuals seeking Lenten Services in either the Ordinary form or the Extraordinary form for Ash Wednesday. Then, I clicked the link on my blogroll for MassTimes.org , the ubiquitous repository of Masses and the Sacraments around the world, and found that their server was then and still is down. For those locally (and the logs indicated many of you who visited were local) I have added hyperlinks to the blog menu to the Archdiocese of Baltimore and for the Archdiocese of Washington . Both Archdioceses have amazingly user-friendly websites that list parishes, their locations and even hyperlinks to the Parishes. Some of the parishes post their bulletins and these had great details on Lenten services, and Ash Wednesday specifically. Hope this helps you in the future! +A.M.D.G.+

George P. Matysek Jr. reports in the January 7th on-line edition of the The Catholic Review that vocations are on the rise in Baltimore: When Father Gerard Francik recently interviewed a 19-year-old man who was thinking about becoming a priest, the archdiocesan vocations director asked him to talk about his prayer life. The former high school football player told Father Francik how he faithfully makes a holy hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, attends Mass or Communion services, prays the rosary and observes the liturgy of the hours – every day. “I was just blown away,” said Father Francik. “He was very dedicated to his faith.” That young man is typical of the kind of people who are stepping forward to become priests these days, according to Father Francik. Many are still in their teens, and they show unbridled enthusiasm for living out their religious convictions, he said. “This generation has a different view,” said Father Francik. “They’re much more service-oriented. They’re