Theology of the Body Immersion Training for Middle School and High School teachers will be held on Aug. 22-23 on the northshore at Mary Queen of Peace Parish Center. The training is sponsored by the Archdiocesan Respect Life Office in collaboration with the Office of Catholic Schools, the Office of Religious Education and the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry.

Oyd J. Craddock, a 1976 graduate of St. Augustine High School, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of his alma mater by the St. Augustine High School Board of Directors. Craddock spent 31 years as a sales, marketing and operations executive at the IBM Corporation, including worldwide responsibilities.

How could any woman be so happy? God only knows. The way Babsie Bleasdell explained it to legions of people around the world – and especially to the people in her adopted hometown of New Orleans – her life changed one day when she was baptized in the Holy Spirit.

You traveled to Rome several weeks ago. Can you recap your trip? I went to Rome for three reasons, and it was providential that all three coincided within the same week. I am the bishop moderator of the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI), which provides continuing education and formation for priests through a program called “Good Leaders, Good Shepherds.” CLI also offers a similar program for bishops.

While doctors affiliated with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints still are reviewing evidence submitted for a healing that could lead to the beatification of Mother Henriette Delille – the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family in pre-Civil War New Orleans – Archbishop Gregory Aymond said his recent meeting in Rome with the cardinal who leads the congregation reiterated the need to continue vigorously promoting her cause.

Are you afraid of the big yellow bus? Karen Klein wasn’t – not until recently, when four teenage boys subjected the 68-year-old bus monitor to a barrage of horrific insults and verbal abuse that included threats to her home and her life.

Beth Ann Simno, longtime administrator at Mount Carmel Academy and a guiding force in the recovery of the school post-Katrina, will assume the role of the school’s principal in June 2014, according to Congregation of Mount Carmel president, Sister Lawrence Habetz, and current president/principal Sister of Mount Carmel Camille Anne Campbell.

Catholic schools have a long-standing commitment to academic excellence that is rooted in the faith-based mission of Catholic education. The Common Core State Standards in no way compromise the Catholic identity or educational program of a Catholic school.

I am 14 and have to deal with problems just like anyone else. I am self-conscious, worry about image and have to decide between right and wrong. But the Holy Spirit guides me to make the right choices, and I want to give solutions to some of the more important issues weighing on teens today.

The nonprofit National Merit Scholarship Corporation has released the 2013 scholarships recipients in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarships Program. Announced on April 24 as corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners were John J. D’Angelo of Harahan, a Jesuit High School graduate, earning the National Merit State Farm Companies Foundation Scholarship; and Cecelia A. Morise of Metairie, a Mount Carmel Academy graduate who earned the National Merit Colgate-Palmolive Company Scholarship.

Photos by Christine Bordelon | Clarion Herald Archbishop Gregory Aymond concelebrated a funeral Mass for Deacon Everett J. Williams with Archbishops Alfred Hughes and Dominic Carmon on Aug. 2 at St. Rita Church in New Orleans.

RÍO DE JANEIRO (CNS) – Hasta en su más tormentoso estado el Mar de Galilea no tiene olas como las que baten la playa de Copacabana, pero el papa Francisco le pidió a los católicos jóvenes que imaginaran que estaban con Jesús en la costa y él les estaba pidiendo que lo siguieran y compartieran su amor con los demás.

Benedictine Father Ambrose Gerald Wathen, the former rector of St. Joseph Seminary College and a monk of St. Joseph Abbey, died July 3 at St. Joseph Abbey. He was 81. Son of the late Henry and Lillian Wathen, Father Ambrose was born in Evansville, Ind., and made his profession as a Benedictine monk of St. Joseph Abbey on Aug. 21, 1959.

Preparing my two boys for the new school year inevitably brings back memories of how things were when I was growing up. I’ll leave to others the exaggerations of walking to school “10 miles uphill both ways” or the frightful demeanor of “Attila the Nun.” The overall feeling that I had while attending St. John the Evangelist School in Midtown Manhattan was one of love and security.

Father James Wehner, one year into his assignment as rector-president of Notre Dame Seminary, understands that quality is much more important than quantity when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of a seminary formation program.

Recently I have had numerous conversations with high school graduates who are heading toward college. They are excited and nervous about their next chapter in life. Many are anxious to get away and experience “freedom,” but little do they know that this freedom comes with heavy responsibility.

The St. Paul’s School has received national certification for its Project Lead The Way (PLTW) program, which it has offered since 2010. PLTW, a nonprofit organization and the nation’s leading provider of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education programs, offers a rigorous world-class curriculum that allows students to apply what they are learning in math and science class to real-life engineering and technology projects.

The summer is quickly coming to an end, and we are about to embark on a new adventure as we prepare to start the 2013-14 school year. I want to welcome back all who are returning and extend a warm welcome to all who are new: students, parents, teachers and administrators.

Summer deadline (We’re biweekly): 10 days before each issue. calendar@clarionherald.org (504) area code unless noted Aug. 3-17 EVENTS REDEMPTORISTS, Denver Province, sponsor fourth annual “National Blessing for Arthritis Sufferers” marking feast day of  founder St. Alphonsus Liguori,  a patron saint to arthritis sufferers.

A Memorial Mass for Sister of St. Joseph Kathleen Bahlinger (formerly Sister Julius) will be celebrated at St. Raymond-St. Leo the Great Church, 2917 Paris Ave., New Orleans, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m., with visitation at 6 p.m.