UMUHU OKABIA, Nigeria — Michael Ndebueze Ndeanaefo, father of Father Aloysius Okey Ndeanaefo of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, died Feb. 18 at Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria.

Ellen Curry, daughter of David and Gina Curry of Springfield, will present her Silver Cross recital in voice on Saturday, May 5 at 2 p.m. in Sacred Heart-Griffin's Dominican Hall, 1200 W. Washington St., Springfield.

Sadie Hamilton, daughter of Allan and Sally Hamilton, will present her Silver Cross recital in voice on Saturday, May 12 at 2 p.m. in Sacred Heart-Griffin's Dominican Hall, 1200 W. Washington St., Springfield.

ROCHESTER — Two parishes, St. Jude in Rochester and St. John Vianney in Sherman, have collaborated to conduct a Timothy Retreat at the St. Jude Parish Center May 18-May 19. The retreat is meant to provide an intensive spiritual experience for junior high students, says Dan Frachey, director of Christian formation at St. Jude.

QUINCY — In conjunction with Earth Day, celebrated April 22, St. Peter School was named a top recycler — #15 out of 22,000 participating schools in the United States — by FundingFactory®, the nation's largest fundraising-by-recycling program for schools and nonprofits.

ALTON — Marquette Catholic High School in Alton has seen significant progress in meeting the $3 million goal of its ongoing capital campaign.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Sister Margaret Lorraine (M. Henrica) Devine, a Sister of the Holy Cross, died April 12, age 85.

The 2012 Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield will be held Saturday, May 5, through Tuesday, May 8 at various venues in the Springfield area. The theme is "Come, Creative Spirit."

I looked up from my novel to find that nearly everyone else was staring. I was waiting for a 6 a.m. flight home after visiting my family. Everything had been normal. But my fellow waiting-area denizens were starting to look pretty worried — not about terrorism or about flying in general, but about the teenagers onboard our plane.

Last month I took part in the National Workshop on Christian Unity, held this year in Oklahoma City. At this annual workshop, the national organizations of United Methodist, ELCA Lutheran, Episcopal, and Catholic ecumenical officers have their own activities along with the events intended for all participants.

Q Some weeks ago, when explaining the concept of a general confession, you said in your column, "Surely any serious sin not already forgiven should be mentioned."

Please tell me what I should do. I am 75 years old and have been a Catholic all my life. I first married a Catholic girl in a church wedding, but after 23 years we were divorced.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — For Vatican historians, the roots of a Christian idea of religious liberty go way back: in fact, back 1,700 years to the Emperor Constantine's victory on Rome's Milvian Bridge and to his conversion.

This spring has been one for the books. In fact, even before spring kicked in around March 22, nature had already decided to get the ball rolling. I, for one, have never seen such an early blooming of trees, shrubs, flowers and grass. On one level, it was delightful to experience.

Daily Scripture readings for the weeks of May 6 and 13.

Daily events occuring throughout the Diocese.

Bishop Paprocki's public schedule for the weeks of May 6 and 13.