Obituaries

After a two-year battle with cancer, Carl Hétu passed away surrounded by family in the early hours of May 27. He was 66.

Do not tell Jim Hughes he must be a compromiser who tempers his pro-life beliefs.

Jim Hughes (1943-2026), a towering and beloved Canadian champion of the preborn for over half a century, passed away on the morning of May 18 surrounded by loved ones.

Legendary football coach Lou Holtz died March 4 in Orlando, Florida, at the age of 89, surrounded by his family. Holtz is best remembered for his 11 seasons in South Bend, where he revitalized the Notre Dame football program.

Cardinal Lucian Muresan, major archbishop of Fagaras and Alba Iulia and head of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church, died Sept. 25 at the age of 94.

One month beyond hitting the century mark in age, Archbishop James MacDonald, C.S.C., passed on May 30.

In the Flannery O'Connor short story "Good Country People," a mother ruefully wishes her offspring had chosen another career path than philosophy because, "You could not say, 'My daughter is a philosopher.' That was something that had ended with the Greeks and Romans."

The 12-year papacy of Pope Francis has been like a freight train. It began slowly with more smoke than movement. However, as time passed, the Pope built a full head of steam and rumbled through the Catholic Church in ways that will not be easily halted.

Long-time Prince Albert Bishop Albert Thévenot passed away April 13. He was 79.

The disgraced former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, removed from the clerical state in 2019 after revelations of credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors and misconduct against adults, has died in Missouri. He was 94.