Long before the dawn of Christianity, trees and plants that remained green throughout the year were used in pagan rituals. During the winter solstice, many cultures decorated their homes with branches of the fir tree as a reminder of spring.

Capuchin Fr. Blaine Burkey, archivist for the St. Conrad Province, marked 58 years of priesthood June 3 and his 84th birthday Nov. 30. Born and reared in Cumberland, Md., he entered a Capuchin-run seminary high school at age 13.

When the Capuchin Franciscans arrived to Denver in 1970 to oversee Annunciation Parish, then 15-year-old Sue Roth, along with her parents and siblings, attended the first Mass the friars celebrated at the church. “My grandparents and some aunts and uncles from Victoria, Kan., were present as well,” the Denverite recalled of the order that is dear to the Roth family.

In addition to being proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, one of the most incredible qualities of Lawrence of Brindisi was his gift for languages. In addition to his native Italian, Lawrence was fluent in Latin, Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish and French.