I’m the kind of mom that makes my family visit cemeteries on vacation. We’ve read poems of famous poets at their graves. We’ve said prayers at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. We’ve taken pictures at Alexander and Eliza Hamilton’s graves and traced our fingers over dates on tombstones in little out-of-the-way towns. And yes, we’ve sat with graves of those we’ve been intimately connected to, as friends or family.

Remembering the recently deceased in the Archdiocese of Seattle

CALABASAS, Calif. – As the world mourned the loss of basketball great Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others killed in a tragic helicopter crash January 26, many recalled how Bryant gave much credit to his Catholic faith for seeing him through the bad times and strengthening his marriage and family.

We must show the elderly and terminally ill that they are not a burden, and their suffering is not meaningless

WASHINGTON – The bishop of El Paso, Texas, met with the families of those who were killed and wounded during the August 3 shooting at a Walmart in the city where he serves, and in a statement following the meeting said his heart “was breaking,” after seeing up-close the human aftermath of the crime.

METUCHEN, N.J. – New Jersey’s new law allowing assisted suicide, effective August 1, “points to an “utter failure” on the part of government and indeed all society, said Bishop James F. Checchio of Metuchen.

VATICAN CITY – A proud Cuban who pressed for greater freedom for his church and for an end to the U.S. embargo on his homeland, Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino, retired archbishop of Havana, died July 26 at the age of 82.

VATICAN CITY – “Every life is valuable, always,” Pope Francis tweeted after offering prayers for Vincent Lambert, a 42-year-old French man who died July 11, nine days after doctors stopped providing him with nutrition and hydration.