Several hundred supporters attended The Ark Gala 2014 at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown on Thursday, Sept. 18. The fundraising event marked The Ark's fifteenth anniversary of caring for abused, abandoned or neglected children.

As the rain continued to pour on the morning of Sept. 14, 20 high school freshmen arrived at Sacred Heart Church in Falfurrias to attend the Link Retreat sponsored by the Office of Youth Ministry and Sacred Heart Church Falfurrias. The Link retreat is for teens who are incoming high school freshman and covers topics like peer pressure, bullying, relationships and faith. Many teens struggle with all these human elements in their lives.

Three women religious from The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are being recognized nationally for their work among the poor and immigrant people of Penitas, Texas, located near the U.S.-Mexico border. Catholic Extension has named the sisters as the 2014 recipients of its Lumen Christi Award, which in Latin means "Light of Christ."

Father Kelly Nemeck, OMI passed away in San Antonio on Sept. 11 and was laid to rest in a private service at Lebh Shomea in Sarita after a funeral Mass was celebrated at Our Lady of Guadalupe on Sept 17.

Bishop Michael Mulvey is encouraging the faithful in the Diocese of Corpus Christi to participate in a national 54-day Rosary Novena for peace and the family, with a special focus on human life, marriage and religious freedom. The National Rosary Novena will begin on Sept. 29 and conclude on Nov. 21.

Amy Barragree is the new Campus Minister for the Cardinal John Henry Newman Catholic Student Center at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the Newman Center at Del Mar College.

Rigoberto and Sandra Garcia, coordinators of the Spanish worldwide marriage encounter in Corpus Christi, are recruiting for an upcoming weekend retreat in October. The retreat weekend is designed to bring a husband and wife closer together.

The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week, Nov. 2-8. This observance, sponsored by the U.S. bishops' Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, is a special time for parishes in the U.S. to foster a culture of vocations for the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life.

With more than 30 years experience in education, Larry Manschot thought he was going to retire and visit his cousins in the Netherlands, but instead he moved to Corpus Christi and became the principal of Central Catholic Elementary School.

There are well-established evils already present in the world, abortion and pornography, to name a few of the many. But there are also newly developing ones that scandalize us but don't seem to rouse enough of us to action. The barbaric activity of Isis in the Middle East is a current example. There are others.

Sacred Heart parish in Corpus Christi held its annual Family Fun Festival on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the parish school grounds. The event raises funds for parish needs throughout the year.

The Cardinal Newman Society has released a list of schools recognized by the Catholic Education Honor Roll as 2014 Schools of Excellence, which includes six Texas Catholic Schools. Since 2004 the Honor Roll has celebrated quality Catholic education throughout the United States.

Holy Cross Church was overflowing with guests and parishioners who attended the Centennial Mass on Sunday, Sept. 14. The choir, led by Marsha Hardeman, performed classic Gospel songs like "Oh the Blood of Jesus" and "Sweet, Sweet Spirit" as the congregation swayed and sang along.

There is a lovely song that I think we might all be familiar with entitled "Somewhere". It was written by Leonard Bernstein and was made famous in the musical West Side Story.

On Friday, Sept. 12, Msgr. Louis Kihneman, III, Vicar General for the Diocese of Corpus Christi and Father Anthony Blount, SOLT blessed and dedicated the Mother Julia Hall at St. Anthony School in Robstown. The building serves as a cafeteria and classrooms and was named in honor of Venerable Mother Julia Navarrete, MDPVM who established the school in August 1916.

The fallen of 9/11 were remembered in a special way in Corpus Christi on the 13th anniversary of that fateful day. More than 1,000 area runners came out to Cole Park on Thursday, Sept. 12, to participate in the fourth annual Patriot 5K Run & Walk sponsored by Citizens In Support of the Corpus Christi Police Department.