Catholic University

After a decade on the job, Mount St. Mary's University President Thomas H. Powell announced Tuesday that he plans to leave the post at the end of the next academic year. "Like any position, the presidency of a university goes through seasons of beginning, developing, and ending, and then beginning again," Powell said in a letter to the Emmitsburg university Tuesday morning. "It is clear to me that the season of change is here. As a university, we are in a good place to welcome a new President to take the helm and continue moving our beloved Mount forward.

After a decade on the job, Mount St. Mary's University President Thomas H. Powell announced Tuesday that he plans to leave the post at the end of the next academic year. "Like any position, the presidency of a university goes through seasons of beginning, developing, and ending, and then beginning again," Powell said in a letter to the Emmitsburg university Tuesday morning. "It is clear to me that the season of change is here. As a university, we are in a good place to welcome a new President to take the helm and continue moving our beloved Mount forward.

The newly installed president of Catholic University, Christian Brother who grew up in Baltimore, has pledged to work against rising tuition rates, pare program duplications and tackle the special educational needs of a new wave of immigrants.Brother Patrick Ellis, 64, became the 13th president of the Roman Catholic university in ceremonies on its Northeast Washington campus Tuesday. He succeeds the Rev. William J. Byron, who held the position for 10 years.Born in Baltimore, Brother Patrick received his high school education at Calvert Hall College before attending Catholic University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his doctorate in English in 1960.

Brother Patrick Ellis, a member of the Christian Brothers who served as president of La Salle University and Catholic University of America, died Feb. 21 of leukemia at a Christian Brothers nursing home in Lincroft, N.J. The Baltimore native was 84. Born and raised Harry James Ellis Jr. in Baltimore, he was a graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. When he was 17, he worked in the library of The Baltimore Sun as a research clerk and won praise from H.L. Mencken, who was writing an obituary for the American novelist Theodore Dreiser in 1945.

The ninth American Cardinals Dinner, an annual fund-raiser benefiting Catholic University in Washington, will be held this year for the first time in Baltimore, archdiocesan officials said yesterday.The $1,000-a-plate, black-tie dinner is held each year in a city whose archdiocese is led by a cardinal and is expected to attract prominent Catholics from across the country. It is scheduled May 1 at the Baltimore Convention Center.This year's dinner will honor the eight cardinals who serve in U.S. archdioceses: Baltimore's William H. Keeler, Washington's James A. Hickey, Boston's Bernard Law, New York's John J. O'Connor, Philadelphia's Anthony J. Bevilacqua, Los Angeles' Roger Mahony, Detroit's Adam J. Maida and Chicago's Francis E. George.

IMMOKALEE, Fla. - On pool-table-flat farmland where peppers, tomatoes and sod have been grown, Thomas S. Monaghan, 65 and one-time fast-food magnate, is pursuing what might be the last phase of his life's work: the saving of souls. "My No. 1 priority now is to help as many people get to heaven as possible," said the founder of Domino's Pizza and former owner of the Detroit Tigers. "I believe the best way to do that is education." The result, if Monaghan's vision and an artist's conceptions are translated into reality, will be the first new Roman Catholic university in the United States in a generation, built from scratch on what is now rich agricultural land near the Everglades of southwestern Florida.

Marilyn Neeley Gerle, a pianist who had been chairwoman of the piano division at Catholic University of America's school of music for more than three decades, died Wednesday of pneumonia at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. The former Catonsville and Washington resident who lived in Hyattsville was 69. Marilyn Neeley, who played professionally under her maiden name, was born and raised in Los Angeles. "Her mother was a piano teacher, and she'd sit under the piano listening while she gave lessons," said her son and only survivor, Andrew Gerle, a musical theater composer who lives in New York City.

Anthony John Ipsaro, former superintendent of parochial schools for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and a noted organizational consultant and psychological counselor, died May 25 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Fells Point home. He was 79. The son of Italian immigrants, Dr. Ipsaro was born and raised in Cleveland, where he graduated in 1950 from Cathedral Latin High School. He was a 1954 graduate of the University of Dayton, and three years later earned a master's degree in educational administration from St. John's University.

Robert E. Hunt, a former Roman Catholic priest who became known nationally in the 1960s for his public disagreement with Pope Paul VI's teaching on birth control, died Thursday at his Homeland residence of acute myeloid leukemia. He was 65.A North Baltimore resident since 1984, Mr. Hunt was born and raised in Newark, N.J. After graduating from Seton Hall University in 1954, he studied for the priesthood at the Vatican. He was ordained in 1957 and spent three years in Rome earning a doctoral degree in sacred theology.

Brother Patrick Ellis, a member of the Christian Brothers who served as president of La Salle University and Catholic University of America, died Feb. 21 of leukemia at a Christian Brothers nursing home in Lincroft, N.J. The Baltimore native was 84. Born and raised Harry James Ellis Jr. in Baltimore, he was a graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. When he was 17, he worked in the library of The Baltimore Sun as a research clerk and won praise from H.L. Mencken, who was writing an obituary for the American novelist Theodore Dreiser in 1945.

After the final bows were taken during Everyman Theatre's inaugural opening night performance of "August: Osage County," an exhuberant yell could be heard from behind the closed curtain. It was an expression of the actors' relief at having survived the challenges posed by playwright Tracy Letts' Tony Award-winning black comedy, "August: Osage County. " And it was an expression of delight in finally having a performing home suitable for an established ensemble theater troupe. That sense of accomplishment was the theme of the theater's official opening this weekend, which included a cocktail party and post-performance cast party on Friday; a gala dinner and performance on Saturday, and a Sunday brunch.

Elinora Bowdoin Bolton, a former French teacher who had been a celebrated 1940s women's tennis player, died of heart failure in her sleep Tuesday at the Keswick Multicare Center. The former Howard County resident was 93. Family members said she was born Elinora Bowdoin in the family home at 1106 N. Charles St., which now houses the Brewer's Art restaurant. Her father moved his family to Somerset Road in Roland Park after he became displeased with the construction of the Monumental Life Insurance building across Charles Street.

One of my most conservative friends is Catholic, but he is not a "conservative Catholic. " In my book, he'd only be a conservative Catholic if he opposed the death penalty (he supports it), opposed abortion (he believes women should have the right to chose) and engaged in natural family planning (he appreciates the fact that all women he's had sex with, including his wife, used the Pill or another artificial contraceptive to avoid unwanted pregnancy). His opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage puts him in agreement with the leadership of his church.

The Rev. Walter John Paulits, a long-time Baltimore-area priest and theology scholar, died June 4 from natural causes at an assisted living residence in the Pasadena area. He was 88. In a career that spanned decades as an educator, religious scholar and priest, he founded and served as pastor of Our Lady of the Chesapeake Roman Catholic Church in Pasadena in 1980 and, although he retired in 1991, was still heavily involved with the church until about a year ago. Both his academic pursuits and a practical sense informed his priesthood, according to those who worked with him. He invited experts in seminary, liturgy and ecumenical outreach to visit and share knowledge, while at the same time empowering his flock with a you-can-do-it attitude.

Anthony John Ipsaro, former superintendent of parochial schools for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and a noted organizational consultant and psychological counselor, died May 25 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Fells Point home. He was 79. The son of Italian immigrants, Dr. Ipsaro was born and raised in Cleveland, where he graduated in 1950 from Cathedral Latin High School. He was a 1954 graduate of the University of Dayton, and three years later earned a master's degree in educational administration from St. John's University.

Danuta Mostwin, an author, psychologist and sociologist who had been a member of the Polish underground during World War II and whose fiction chronicling the experiences of Polish emigres earned her two nominations for the Nobel Prize in literature, died Monday of Parkinson's disease at her Ruxton home. She was 88. She was born Danuta Pietruszewski in Lublin, Poland, and she completed high school in Warsaw in 1939. She had planned to be a playwright, but turned her attention to studying for a medical career after the outbreak of World War II. After Germany occupied her homeland, Dr. Mostwin had to study at an underground medical school held at the University of Warsaw.

Rowena Daly, formerly of Baltimore, MD, daughter of Edith C. Daly and the late Robert J. Daly, will marry Sean Andrews on Saturday, May 13, 2006 in Central Park's Conservatory Gardens. Rowena is a graduate of Western High School and Catholic University of America and Sean is a graduate of Bates College, and in the fall will receive his Masters at Columbia University. The couple resides in NYC.

A Mass of Christian burial for the Rev. Carleton M. Sage, S.S., who taught at Catholic University, at St. Mary's Seminary and in Guatemala, will be offered at 11 a.m. today at Our Lady Queen of the Angels Chapel, at what is now the Charlestown Retirement Community at 715 Maiden Choice Lane.Father Sage, who was 86 and lived at St. Charles Villa, the retirement home of the Sulpicians, died Friday at St. Agnes Hospital after an illness of several months.He retired in 1978 after teaching in seminaries and helping in parishes in Guatemala since 1965, when he completed studies in Spanish at the University of Arizona and in Mexico.