For those who don’t know better, it could be assumed that Brother Melchior Polowy was a Sacred Heart religious associated with wrestling at Brother Martin High School. A large trophy, which carries his image, seems to have a permanent home in the school’s Ridgley Center.

The LHSAA’s boys’ and girls’ basketball playoffs began on Monday with 15 local Catholic schools entered. In two weeks when the Top 28 tournaments tip off at Louisiana-Monroe’s Fant-Ewing Coliseum, that number may have been whittled down to zero.

As Cam Cameron prepares to coordinate the LSU offense, he need only look at some numbers. In 2012, Alabama was 31st in total offense. LSU was 85th. In third-down conversions, Alabama was 16th at just under 48 percent.

Maybe you missed it, but a recent study out of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington stated that the average child receives four hours of indirect TV exposure a day. That is in addition to the 80 minutes they watch for themselves.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – During his almost eight-year pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI impressed the world as a teacher, guiding Catholics to the sources of the faith and urging modern society not to turn its back on God.

There is power in words, and as a Catholic journalist, I get to experience that truth and responsibility every day. I’m not a plumber or a carpenter or an automobile mechanic. I wish I had those marketable skills because I could have saved a few thousand dollars during a lifetime of plumbing leaks, termite infestation and 10W-30 dripping on my driveway, not to mention the street cred it might have given me in casual conversation.

What is your personal perspective on the Lenten season? These 40 days allow us to reflect on Jesus’ 40 days of prayer and fasting in the desert in preparation for his public ministry, which led to his death and resurrection.

On Feb. 17 at St. Louis Cathedral, Archbishop Gregory Aymond welcomed 106 catechumens and 141 candidates who will enter full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Immediately after the prayer service, Michael Schilling of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish called his girlfriend Sarah Calamari, a catechumen, up to the altar to take a picture.

Malta Park residents Margaret Reynolds and Arsene Baquet and were named the 2013 queen and king at the retirement residence's annual ball.

Immaculate Conception Elementary School third grader Charles Dufrene III placed second in the 2013 Oakwood Mall Float Contest. He created the religious-inspired float, "Rolling From Fat Tuesday to Ash Wednesday."

V ATICAN CITY — In his first Angelus address since announcing his resignation, Pope Benedict XVI asked for prayers and mentioned how unusual a period it is for him and for the church, but he did not explicitly talk to pilgrims about his resignation.

Minh Duong isn’t one who easily gets flustered. As executive pastry chef for the last 16 years at the Hotel Monteleone, she’s used to preparing desserts and breads for upwards of 500 people daily, not to mention the multitudes visiting during the recent Super Bowl who craved a bite of king cake.

El Arzobispo Gregory Aymond en la Iglesia de San Dominic, pronunció la siguiente homilía, el 31 de enero, en la Misa de la Semana Anual de las Escuelas Católicas. Hoy celebramos la fiesta de San Juan Bosco, nacido en 1815, de una familia muy pobre.

Deadline: Submissions due Thursday (10 days before each issue) calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code except where noted Feb. 15-25 FISH FRIES KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS GENTILLY COUNCIL 2925, Feb. 15, 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $10; drinks and dessert, extra.

DeSoto Parish District Judge Robert Burgess had set Christopher Sepulvado’s execution at Angola for Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13. While Sepulvado’s execution was stayed by a federal judge, his fate still is in the hands of the judicial system.

The Catholic Men’s Fellowship 18th Morning of Men’s Spirituality will feature a family affair – “Passing on the Faith: Three Generations of Finneys” – Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 4640 Canal St., New Orleans.

Book Talk, signing ➤  WHAT: Author Katheryn Krotzer Laborde discusses and signs her new book, “The Story Behind the Painting,” about Frederick J. Brown’s “The Assumption of Mary” painting hanging in the Xavier University of Louisiana’s library.

Through medical missions, art projects, book bag drives and more, the Association Haïtienne de Développement Humain, Inc. (AHDH), in New Orleans, has been making a difference for Haitian people since its founding in 1985.

Pastors and parish administrators are reminded that nominations for the Order of St. Louis IX Awards should be sent no later than Feb. 28. Parishes of fewer than 1,000 families may nominate one parishioner, and parishes of more than 1,000 families may nominate two persons.

Fr. MichaelJoseph went to his flock New Orleans I had to add a couple comments to the article about Father MichaelJoseph Nguyen of Resurrection Parish. I have always felt that the way to a person’s soul is through his body.