Richard Szczepanowski

A 22-year-old Washington man has been arrested for the July 5 shooting and killing on the campus of The Catholic University of America of a Kentucky man visiting the nation's capital.

Marking the first anniversary of the Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and praying that God will "have mercy and save us" and "convert those who foster aggression and war," Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory and Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, the Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia, led a March 7 ecumenical prayer service for peace at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

Celebrating a Feb. 5 Mass in honor of Black History Month, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory urged "ordinary people of color" to "vastly improve our world with an understanding of the strength of character that resides within the souls of our people."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is best honored when people "recall to mind and heart that the issues Dr. King placed before our nation have not been adequately accomplished," and strive to continue his work, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said during a Jan. 15 Mass honoring the legacy of the late civil rights leader.

Ten months after a marble statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the Rosary Walk and Garden outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was vandalized and destroyed beyond repair, a replacement statue was blessed Oct. 23 by Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory.

Catholics, and all people of faith, must engage in the "critically important work" of fighting injustice, racism and other societal ills that prevent people from living in peace, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said in an Oct. 13 address at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Catholic leaders in an online discussion June 8 urged the faithful to look at gun violence as a pro-life issue, address the roots of racist thinking that promotes such violence and press for commonsense gun laws.

In two separate Masses marking Black History Month, Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory stressed that the annual monthlong observance is not just an opportunity to celebrate the gifts and accomplishments of African Americans.

People must "reject all forms of racism, bigotry and injustice" and recognize "we are each made by God and are deserving of respect and dignity because of just that," Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory said.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington has collected and donated nearly half a million dollars to assist the restoration and rebuilding efforts of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was extensively damaged in a fire two years ago.

Catholic media have the important task of presenting news truthfully and in light of the Gospel values taught by the church, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington told Catholic media professionals June 9.

Celebrating an Aug. 28 Mass to mark the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's historic March on Washington, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory urged Catholics to continue the dream of the late civil rights leader and to work for reconciliation and unity building.

The Archdiocese of Washington and its Catholic Schools Office hailed the Aug. 3 emergency order by Maryland's governor to override a Montgomery County Health Department blanket directive that would have kept nonpublic schools from reopening for in-person instruction through at least Oct. 1.

A Capuchin Franciscan priest was found guilty Aug. 15 of four counts of child sexual abuse stemming from when he served as a parochial vicar at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington.

Christmas: Exactly 200 years ago this Christmas Eve — Dec. 24, 1818 — in a little church in what is now Austria, the world heard for the first time a poem set to music that eventually would be hailed as one of the most popular and beloved Christmas carols of all time.

A former assistant superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Washington was arrested Sept. 26 after federal law enforcement officials charged him with mail fraud in a scheme to embezzle money from the archdiocese.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington encouraged archdiocesan parishes to participate in a six-week "Season of Healing" to counter what he called "confusion, disappointment and disunity" and to help bring about healing in the wake of recent sex abuse scandals that have rocked the U.S. Catholic Church.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington blessed a newly completed green infrastructure project at a Catholic cemetery May 7, saying it aims to "keep God's creation as beautiful as when he created it."

Fifty years after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. -- he was gunned down April 4, 1968 -- the great civil rights advocate continues to be an outstanding example of how to live the Gospel message, according to Catholic clergy and others.

The Archdiocese of Washington filed suit in federal court Nov. 28 after a transit system rejected an Advent and Christmas advertisement.