You recently attended a conference on social media along with several other U.S. bishops. Who sponsored the meeting? The meeting was sponsored by the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI). Their great claim to fame is their work with priests through a program called “Good Leaders, Good Shepherds.” That two-year program is an opportunity for priests to come to a deeper understanding of pastoral administration and leadership within priestly ministry.

From her apartment windows, Carolyn Nazar has seen plenty of the world. In August 2005, Nazar was on an upper floor of St. Bernard Manor in Meraux with two dozen other elderly residents when she saw the wall of water bring the Gulf of Mexico into her kitchen sink.

In song, dance and prayer the parishioners of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Reserve celebrated a Mass June 24 to honor the parish’s 75th anniversary. The Mass culminated a weekend-long observance that included a social and dance, a family day picnic, new bell tower dedication and time capsule burial.

With sunlight peering in the front window of his Uptown home, preservation architect and artist David Dillard paints. He has spent the  four months painting what he considers 14 of the most beautiful Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

“Who doesn’t respond to human touch?” asked Deborah Lansing, an administrative assistant at Padua Pediatrics in Belle Chasse During a recent visit to the 24-hour, intermediate-care facility for developmentally delayed children and young adults up to age 25, clients sponge-painted, played games, read books and colored with active treatment technicians.

25 Years as a Deacon Deacon Robert G. Beaumont Sr. Most of my adult life I have tried to live a Christian ethic. My wife Helen and I have been married 60 years and have eight children and are proud grandparents and great-grandparents.

El Apostolado Hispano celebró una cena-bailable el 22 de junio en el Chateau Golf y Country Club, para celebrar su 40avo aniversario en la Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleáns. El evento que estuvo totalmente lleno, fue amenizado por la música de Julio y Cesar.

“There’s a good spirit and a lot of people involved,” said Father David Dufour, pastor of Divine Mercy Parish, about the progress to build a new Catholic church in northwest Kenner. Divine Mercy, the result of a 2009 merger of Nativity of Our Lord and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishes in north Kenner, has worked hard to meld as one parish.

A continuación se describe mi breve resumen de la reunión de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos en Atlanta, 13-15 de junio. 1. El nuncio papal, el Arzobispo Carlo Viganò, se unió a nosotros para la reunión y extendió los saludos del Papa Benedicto XVI.

Say “Knights of Columbus,” and most people think of the dedicated group of Catholic men who oversee everything from parish fish fries to charitable endeavors for children, the sick and others in need.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond joined the rosary group, Our Lady of Prompt Succor Peace Prayers, June 4 to pray for an end to violence in the region. The rosary group has been meeting every first Monday at 1 p.m. at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, 2701 State St., for the last 17 years.

Photo by Frank J. Methe | CLARION HERALD Sisters of the Holy Family celebrating their jubilees this year are, seated, from left: Sister Mary Madeline Sophie Jolivet, Sister Mary Bertille Hazeur, Sister Mary Janet Peters and Sister Mary Bertha Pierre-Auguste.

Jesuit Father Gerald Fagin, an associate professor for the Loyola Institute for Ministry and member of the Loyola Jesuit community, died of prostate cancer June 14 at the Ignatius Residence. He was 74 and had been a Jesuit for 55 years and a priest for 43 years.

Christians find fulfillment not by using power or force to realize their own wishes, but by being submissive to God’s will and serving others, Pope Benedict XVI said. Many in the world today are surrounded by people or things that threaten to become the guiding force in their lives, therefore, “it’s necessary to have a hierarchy of values in which the top priority is God,” the pope said during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall June 27.

Fifth- through ninth-grade girls used Flip cameras to make music videos  and learned editing in iMovie during one of Mount Carmel Academy’s week-long summer camps sessions. Mount Carmel Academy recently upgraded its computer lab and added 78 new iMAC computers, which the campers were the first to try out.

I guess there’s no better place to go for a college football confession than a Catholic newspaper. I am here to tell you I was wrong. The dust has started to settle and details are trickling out on college football’s new four-team playoff.

Photo | HOLY ROSARY HIGH SCHOOL The Holy Rosary track and field team and coaches proudly display the Class C boys’ runner-up trophy they won on May 4 at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Track and Field meet.

In order to provide pastoral care for the people of God in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archbishop Aymond has made the following appointments: PASTOR Rev. John C. Arnone, Pastor, St. Rita Parish, Harahan, effective July 1, 2012.

There are times when the English language doesn’t precisely reflect the nuances of Catholic theology. When Deacon Daniel Green told friends, with a glint in his eye, that he was getting ready to “marry his mother,” they didn’t know exactly how to respond.

Were you surprised at all by the Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act? I was surprised. When I found out about the decision, I was attending continuing education for bishops in North Carolina with the Catholic Leadership Institute.