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Some of Lansdale Catholic High School’s most recent graduates are planting seeds of hope within people in need who are 1,480 miles away from Philadelphia. God is also using those experiences to plant seeds of lifelong compassion and service in those same young people.

Gabbie Snyder and Gail Roessler have turned their pain into a positive over the past nine years. When their sister Gerri Garofalo, a 1968 alumna of Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, passed away in 2017 they wanted to honor her memory and ensure her legacy would continue to benefit students at Wood. Garofalo not only attended Wood, she taught world cultures, sociology and psychology at the school during her almost 40-year career.

When the Little Sisters of the Poor gather for their annual St. Jeanne Jugan Gala on Sunday, Sept. 27, they will celebrate a relationship that began more than 150 years ago. This year the Little Sisters will honor the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which first welcomed them to the city in 1869, and has supported their mission ever since. Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez will accept the honor on behalf of the archdiocese at the Drexelbrook in Drexel Hill.

Sister Anne Woodeshick, RSM Sister Anne Woodeshick, RSM, age 86, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas for 66 years, died peacefully on September 2, 2026, at McAuley Convent, Merion Station, PA. Born on June 2, 1940, Anne was welcomed by her loving parents, Hugo Frederick Woodeshick and Marjorie Mary O’Donnell Woodeshick, and her older sister, MiMi. Soon the family grew to include four more children: Marty, Frankie, Kathy, and Meg.

Sister Mary Michele O’Haren, IHM Sister Mary Michele O’Haren died August 28, 2026 in Camilla Hall, having served 78 years as a Sister, Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She was born Mary Patricia on July 20, 1931, to her parents, James and Elizabeth [Sauer] who raised her and her brothers, Thomas and James, in Annunciation Parish in Shenandoah, PA. As a child, Mary Patricia attended elementary school in the parish, graduating from Shenandoah Catholic High School in 1949.

Sister Joseta Ernest, SSJ Sister Joseta Ernest SSJ, (formerly S. Joseta Maureen,) age 79, died on August 20, 2026, at Riddle Memorial Hospital. The daughter of the late Joseph E. and Kathleen C. (nee Hines) Ernst, she attended St. John Chrysostom Grade School and Notre Dame High School in Moylan, Pa. In September 1964 she entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Chestnut Hill, and professed her final vows in 1972. SisterJoseta ministered in the dioceses of Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Trenton.

The first day of school is usually an exciting time for students as they begin another academic year. Students at St. Francis of Assisi School in Springfield, Delaware County were especially excited because on their first day of school they celebrated the reopening of the primary school building that was destroyed by fire on Oct. 7, 2024. During the celebration on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at the school, Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez led a prayer of dedication service and blessed the building.

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A conference this week in Rome and at the Vatican brought together philosophers, neuroscientists and leading international figures in artificial intelligence exploring technology’s impact on art, culture, and the human mind.

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary has released its 2025-2026 annual report, highlighting its mission of priestly, diaconal, and theological formation and the support sustaining its ministry. The seminary reported 140 seminarians enrolled during the 2025-2026 academic year, including 72 men preparing for priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.