Cardinal Renato Martino, the former Vatican observer at the United Nations and former president of the pontifical councils for justice and peace and for migrants and travelers, died Oct. 28 at the age of 91.

Perseverance, fortitude, grit and calm in the face of a storm often accompany the description of prominent athletes. At the funeral Mass of deceased brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau Sept. 9 however, it was their wives who emulated the aforementioned attributes as they took turns giving words of remembrance for their fallen husbands.

Broadcaster and TV personality Phil Donahue, who died Aug. 18 at age 88, was once busted by Catholic News Service.

Abbot Peter Novecosky, OSB, who for more than a quarter century shared the news, and the good news, with Catholics in Western Canada through The Prairie Messenger newspaper, has died at 79.

Even in his dying days, Fr. Paul Joseph Lennon continued to show his concern for the poor.

When Pope (now St.) John Paul II arrived in Ottawa in 1984, the first pontiff to visit this country, greeting him in Ottawa was Canada’s 18th Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, one of 10 Catholics who have held that office since 1867. 

Boxing Canada has joined former students from across the country in sending an outpouring of gratitude for the late Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame coach Vinnie Ryan.

Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller said he was “deeply saddened” to learn of the death of Archbishop Adam Exner, OMI, who served as Archbishop of Vancouver from 1991 to 2004. 

The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Marcel André Joseph Gervais of Ottawa  Aug. 6 brought to a close 65 years of faithful service to the Catholic Church and beyond.  

Sr. Ellen Leonard was never satisfied doing the easy stuff. She was one of the first women to do a PhD in systematic theology, one of the first to teach theology to graduate students and she never shied away from controversies over feminist and ecological issues in the Church.

It all started with a phone call. When the Daughters of St. Paul arrived in downtown Chicago in 1979, we were in need of a garbage pickup company. Why not continue with the company that had already been servicing our building? When the Sisters called Flood Brothers Disposal, little did they know the lifelong friendship it would kick off. Mike and Joe Flood were fervent Irish Catholics and…practical jokers. They first pretended to be atheists, but eventually came clean (pun intended) and began picking up our trash gratis, along with financially supporting our media mission.

The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism’s virtual event “The Itinerants Speak to us” provided a forum for society’s marginalized and voiceless to share their life story and offer perspective on how individuals can come together to combat poverty.

Fr. Vito Marziliano, a big man with a permanent smile who had only friends and no acquaintances, died of a sudden heart attack in his Brampton, Ont., parish office Feb. 12. He was 66 years old.

Bishop Remi De Roo, the former bishop of Victoria who was the world’s youngest bishop when he was appointed in 1962 at age 38 by Pope John XXIII, died Feb. 1. He was 97.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s compassion and sense of humour, as well as his commitment to justice and processes of peace, were among the many reasons he was an icon, said Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg.