Sister Estelle Marie Wallace, a Sister of Mercy, died in Oklahoma City, on May 27. She was 85. Sister Estelle was born on June 19, 1928 in New Orleans. She was preceded in death by her parents Thomas J. Wallace II and Grace Ann Bird Wallace; her brothers Thomas III and Al Cornelius; and her sisters Mary Ferguson and Ellen.

Fifty years or so ago the late, great Nat King Cole had a hit song that began, “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.” With the summer heat beating down upon us, perhaps now is a good time to look at how we might make this summer a truly special time for ourselves and our families.

Music has been a driving force in Cathy Gianfala Carriere’s life since birth. Coming from a musical family, she remembers her first performance on stage at age 5 with her father’s band, then progressing to Catholic church choirs and studying voice at Loyola University and classical guitar.

La Arquidiócesis de Nueva Orleáns acogió la Asamblea General de la Conferencia de obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos la semana pasada. ¿Cómo fue la reunión de tres días? Todo salió extraordinariamente bien.

➤ Age: 35 ➤ Seminary year: First Theology, Notre Dame Seminary ➤ Home Parish: St. Joseph Parish (Vietnamese), Algiers ➤ Elementary School: Dien Hong, Dien Chau, Nghe An, Vietnam ➤ High School: Dien Chau 2, Nghe An, Vietnam ➤ College: I studied sociology in Saigon, Vietnam ➤ Confirmation saint: St. Peter, the same as my baptismal name ➤ Why did you choose this saint?

I’m often surprised by the way our memories work. We can be doing one thing, while our brains are at work on something else, unconsciously digging deeper than we ever thought possible. Oftentimes, I’m amazed by how simple something is, even when I haven’t done it in a while.

Outstanding male track performer Zachary Albright of St. Paul’s set a Class 5A record of 4:12.82 in the 1,600-meter run. Outstanding female track performer

Nobody (that I know of) enjoys hall of fame induction ceremonies more than I. There is little more gratifying to me than seeing the state’s most remarkable athletes “immortalized” for their achievements.

I don’t get it. That is, the outpouring of positive reviews of the Pelicans’ trade of a potential first-round pick in 2015 to Houston for center Omer Asik. The deal means, for the third consecutive year, the New Orleans Pelicans will be without a first-round draft choice.

In February, I had the great privilege of a taking a trip to Rome and Assisi with two of my classmates, Father Colin Braud and Father Daniel Green. This was a truly blessed time of vacation and pilgrimage as we visited the holiest sites in those cities.

Christians are not made in a laboratory, but in a community called the church, Pope Francis said. At his weekly general audience June 25, Pope Francis continued his series of audience talks about the church, telling an estimated 33,000 people that there is no such thing as “do-it-yourself” Christians or “free agents” when it comes to faith.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued the following news release regarding an incident at Wynhoven Health Care Center June 27. We can confirm that an employee of Wynhoven Health Care Center was arrested and charged with simple rape on June 27.

The northshore Latino community celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi June 22 after the 2 p.m. Spanish Mass with a procession around St. Jane de Chantal Church in Abita Springs. Father Angel Diaz, who leads the Hispanic community on the northshore, carried the monstrance.

The Loyola University New Orleans Institute for Ministry (LIM) and its distance learning extension program, LIMEX, received the highest award from the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL).

Consultative sessions for the ninth General Synod of the Archdiocese of New Orleans continue through Sept. 4, ending with a young adult meeting. The sessions take input from Catholics about what they see as strengths of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, what can be improved or added to determine priorities in coming years.

At the June 22 Mass marking the archdiocesan celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi, Archbishop Gregory Aymond urged worshipers assembled inside St. Stephen Church in Good Shepherd Parish to embrace the spirit of the Family Prayer by praying for an end to violence, murder and racism.

Robert M. Tasman, who has served since 2008 as associate director of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops (LCCB), was named as executive director July 1, succeeding Daniel J. Loar, who had directed the organization for the last 12 years.

In Order to provide pastoral care for the people of God in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archbishop Aymond has made the following appointments: Reverend Thomas Schaefgen, O.P. as Director of Campus Ministry for Tulane Catholic Center, effective July 1, 2014.

By now, you’ve no doubt heard the ubiquitous radio spots. Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which is building a massive, regional abortion facility on Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, recently has flooded the local airwaves with an expensive local radio buy promoting the message that the organization is all about nurturing women’s health.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – In a narrowly tailored 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court June 30 said closely held companies may be exempted from a government requirement to include contraceptives in employee health insurance coverage under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.