The annual Mass honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Diocese of Buffalo will mark the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a special Mass on Sunday, Jan. 17, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Martin de Porres Church, 555 Northampton St., Buffalo.  The Mass is sponsored by the African American Commission and the Office of Cultural Diversity for the Diocese of Buffalo.

Bishop Martin D.  Holley, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., will be the celebrant and homilist.  Bishop Holley was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in 1987 and was ordained a bishop in Washington, D.C., in 2004.  Among his many involvements is the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus of which he has been a member since 1983.  The bishop also serves on several committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is a member of the Washington InterFaith Network.   

Born in Florida and raised in Alabama, Bishop Holley has a bachelor of science degree from Alabama State University in Montgomery.  He studied at Theological College in Washington, D.C., and completed his studies for the priesthood at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla.

A reception will follow the Mass and a theme basket raffle will benefit the Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund.

For more information, contact the Diocese of Buffalo's Office of Cultural Diversity at 847-2217.