The term “school family” has a special ring to it on the campus of St. Edward the Confessor. In addition to boasting eight faculty members who are also graduates of the Metairie elementary school, two sets of St. Edward teachers bear more than a passing resemblance to one another.

St. Rita Elementary’s speech team did well at the St. Augustine Middle School Speech Tournament held Dec. 1, 2012. The school received a trophy for first-place sweepstakes, and individual players also placed in different categories.

Marianite Sister Marjorie Hebert had just completed a one-year sabbatical and was prayerfully searching for a new direction in ministry when she got the call. On the other end was her good friend, Daughter of Charity Sister Anthony Barczykowski, the executive director of the archdiocesan Department of Community Services, asking if she would consider becoming the interim president of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans to succeed outgoing president Gordon Wadge.

When Ursuline Academy interim president Glenn Gennaro walks out of his second-floor office in the main academy building on State Street, he tries to remain extremely attentive. “This is a huge place,” Gennaro said, referring to Ursuline’s 11-acre campus that is dotted with grand stone buildings with interconnected walkways and a surprise seemingly behind every twist and turn.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans, in association with the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, will host “Portrait of Faith: John Paul II in Life & Art,” March 8-June 16 at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Test runs for the new $45 million streetcar extension that will run from Canal Street, down Loyola Avenue to the Union Passenger Terminal took the red streetcar in front of the archdiocesan office building at 1000 Howard Ave.

“All Are Welcome,” the opening song sung at Mass Dec. 14 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Belle Chasse, set the tone for the Westbank Catholic Singles Group that gathered that evening. Deacon Ray Duplechain, the group’s chaplain, gave a homily reflecting on not giving up on hopes and dreams but to follow the way of the Lord, even with unfulfilled dreams.

“Moses said to the pharaoh, ‘Let my people go,’” said Sister of the Holy Family Greta Jupiter to open a prayerful vigil to end human trafficking held Jan. 11 at St. Rita Church in New Orleans. The event, coordinated by the various women religious congregations who comprise the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) Region V, which includes Louisiana, brought to light the slavery of today – human trafficking.

Antes del Super Bowl, se reunirá con los funcionarios, Gayle y Tom Benson y con funcionarios de servicios públicos de la ciudad, en el canal de televisión, con el objetivo de despertar conciencia acerca del sombrío pero muy organizada empresa del tráfico de seres humanos con fines de prostitución.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code Jan. 26-Feb. 3 PARISHES ST. JUDE SHRINE, winter novena Jan. 26-Feb. 3, 411 N. Rampart St., New Orleans.

As I sit and wonder what I am going to write about concerning “Faith and Family,” several thoughts bombard my brain. One of the first thoughts centered on wondering how the people of New Orleans survived the summers without air-conditioning.

As the semester starts up, we are reminded by the hacking coughs, runny noses and fevers that flu season is again upon us. As I began preparing for teaching my classes, I was reminded to use hand sanitizer and to encourage students to visit the doctor as soon as they felt symptoms, so as not to spread the virus.

One of the most fruitful documents of Vatican Council II was the Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church. Catholic dioceses in countries where the church was well established were asked to send priests, brothers, sisters and lay persons as missionaries to countries where Christ was not known, where the Church was just getting a foothold or where, though Catholicism was well established, there was an acute shortage of priests, religious and catechists.

At one time, when New Orleans was considered the sports capital of the South, Peter Finney was there to chronicle the events in his column written for the New Orleans States. He was there in the heyday of boxing in New Orleans.

As national signing day approaches (Feb. 6), do yourself a favor. Don’t get too wrapped up in the hype. Four years ago, LSU’s recruiting class of 2009 consisted of four so called “five-star” recruits.

If proposals 8 and 18, which would limit non-public or select schools to compete in just two playoff divisions, is to fail when it comes to a vote on Friday, it will require full participation by principals from Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

In order to provide pastoral care for the people of God in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archbishop Aymond has made the following appointment: PAROCHIAL VICAR Father John Dominic Sims, O.P. , as Parochial Vicar, St. Dominic Parish, New Orleans, effective Jan. 4, 2013.

The desire to see and know God is innate in everyone, even nonbelievers, Pope Benedict XVI said. But it’s especially important that people don’t just seek God when they need him but make room for him throughout their busy lives, he said during his weekly general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall Jan. 16.

Lost somewhere in the midst of former Mayor C. Ray Nagin’s indictment for speculating in granite futures and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o’s incredibly virtual romance was this tidbit of sobering news.

You have mentioned that there are several pro-life issues that will be coming up in the next several weeks. Can you talk about them? I had the privilege of speaking Jan. 12 on the steps of the State Capitol in Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Right to Life March.