CANTON – The apostle Paul didn’t wait for history to define him. He defined himself in Philippians 3:5-6 as: “circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:5-6).

BOARDMAN — Four high school seniors, two from Youngstown Ursuline and two from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, tackled topics ranging from religion and the Internet to the value of Catholic education during a panel discussion Jan. 7 at Antone’s Banquet Center here.

NEW YORK (CNS) -- An inscription over the entry gate of the Memphis, Tenn., school where some of the early scenes of the inspirational family drama "The Blind Side" (Warner Bros.) are set reads: "With God all things are possible" (Mt 19:26). That Bible verse aptly characterizes the remarkable series of real-life events first recounted in Michael Lewis' 2006 best-seller "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game," and here adapted for the screen.

At every Mass he celebrates these days, Father Gregory Maturi asks his parishioners to “pray for Angeline and her family, for St. Dominic Parish and for the city of Youngstown.” Since much-beloved parishioner Angeline Fimognari, 80, was murdered outside St. Dominic Church after morning Mass Jan. 23, the pastor of the parish also prays “to Angeline,” he said.

Playing an active role in the Catholic community has always been important to Fran Pilarcik, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Vienna. When she and her husband of 56 years, Paul, were looking for a home, nearness to a Catholic Church was high on their list. “We bought land in 1958 because it was directly behind the church,” she said. A one-minute walk through the field or five minutes on the road takes Pilarcik to the church, where she is in her 32nd year as sacristan. “When I enter the church, I feel it is my second home and the people my extended family,” she said.