Fall is naturally a time of new beginnings and excitement in many households as children return to school or begin school for the first time, young adults are off to college, and parishes launch their complete schedule of ministries. New beginnings and welcomes mark this time of the year, and at the heart of it all, there is hope for all the future holds. Words of welcome and welcome back echo through these days.

A hundred people gathered at Christ the King Seminary, in East Aurora, Friday to hear more about Buffalo's first bishop. Bishop John Timon established the Diocese of Buffalo in 1847 and over the next 20 years laid a groundwork for many of the hospitals, schools and missions which still serve the diocese to this day. To commemorate his legacy on the 150th anniversary of his death, Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora hosted a four-hour conference in the seminary's main dining room.

Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, is calling all creatures great and small for a blessing of animals on his front lawn. The blessing will take place at 77 Oakland Place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, September 30, to mark the upcoming Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

Father Walter Werbicki celebrated six decades as a priest on June 30. "It is not only my trust in the Lord, but more importantly, the prayers and support of all of you," he wrote to his church family at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, where he lives and celebrates early morning Mass.

Six Sisters of Mercy are celebrating their jubilees this year during a Mass on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. at the Mercy Center Chapel, 625 Abbott Road, Buffalo. The Rev. William Bigelow will celebrate and music will be provided by the Sisters of Mercy and Mercy Associate Choir.

Six men from varied backgrounds promised Bishop Richard J. Malone they would discharge the office of deacon with humble charity in order to assist the priestly order and to benefit the Christian people. Finding them worthy, Bishop Malone accepted them and ordained these men as deacons of the Catholic Church. Four men continue their formation to the priesthood, while two - Edward Birmingham and Kenneth Monaco - will remain members of the Permanent Diaconate.

The Sisters of Mercy Many Faces of Mercy Giving Circle celebrated its 15th anniversary of awarding grants to non-profit agencies that serve women and young girls by distributing 10 grants totaling $17,100 during a ceremony at Mercy Center, Buffalo, on Sept. 14.

Father Walter Grabowski was named pastor of St. Gabriel Parish, Elma, effective Sept. 1. The previous pastor, Father Daniel Palys, retired at the end of January 2017. Father Grabowski's new assignment is for a term of six years. He had been serving as pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish, Eden, and Holy Spirit Parish, North Collins.

Six men will receive the sacrament of holy orders on Saturday, Sept. 16, when Buffalo's Bishop Richard J. Malone ordains the men to the holy order of deacon. Two gentlemen will be permanent deacons and the other four will continue their studies for the priesthood. This special Mass will be held at 9:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo.

They are hoping to start a new religious congregation and, on Tuesday, three women from the Diocese of Buffalo took a big individual step in their formation as Marian Franciscan Sisters. They received their religious habits and new religious names as Bishop Richard Malone received them into the novitiate in a special Mass at Our Lady Chapel in St. Joseph Cathedral.

Located on the campus of Sisters Hospital on Main Street in Buffalo, the St. Catherine Laboure Health Care Center offers a full range of services to assist residents and patients in need of long-term care and rehabilitation. To assist those who wish to live at home and maintain their independence, while still receiving needed services to remain healthy, the center's Adult Day Health Care Program offers a place for adults of all ages to socialize and receive care for several hours per day in a controlled environment.

St. Joseph Cathedral, the central church for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, has undergone a changing of the guard. Father Charles E. Slisz has come out of retirement to take over the role of cathedral rector from Father Peter Drilling, who has served in that position since 2014. Father Drilling will continue his long career teaching at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced new clergy assignments at several parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo. The appointments include welcoming three priests to the diocese.

In apostolic times, when the Church in Jerusalem was in great distress, St. Paul did not hesitate to ask the Catholics of Corinth to give generously to the relief of their brothers in religion. This bond of human solidarity and Christian brotherhood has been in the Church through the ages. Whenever distress came to our brothers in the faith in one part of the world, those in other parts were always willing to extend to them their helping hand.

CLARENCE — Sisters of St. Joseph, associates and friends gathered under a tent June 23 at their Clarence residence to ritualize the recent sale of some of their Clarence land and buildings and to honor their deceased sisters with a tree-planting ceremony.

While teachers who work in any diocesan Catholic schools often feel the pinch of budgetary concerns, this becomes even more of a concern in low-income areas where students' families find it difficult to afford school supplies, requiring teachers to buy them. However, thanks to the efforts of a retired autoworker and substitute teacher, The Teacher's Desk, located just off of Main Street in the city of Buffalo, has let teachers in eligible schools in Western New York shop for donated supplies free of charge since 2011.

HAMBURG — Sister Christine Songin, FSSJ, and Sister Benilda Nadolski, FSSJ, celebrated their 75th jubilee, and Sister Ann Marie Hudzina, FSSJ, celebrated her 50th jubilee on May 28 at Immaculate Conception Convent.

Most of the retired priests of the Diocese of Buffalo are hardly "retired" at all. Msgr. Angelo Caligiuri is a good example of that. At age 83, he still serves on the Priests Personnel Board, Diocesan Finance Council, board of directors for the Diocesan Counseling Center, and says weekend Masses and occasionally a weekday Mass at St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo.

The Diocese of Buffalo's ordination class of 1967 recently shared a 50th anniversary Mass, paying special honor to Father Guy Siracuse, a classmate, a fellow priest, a friend who has spent the last 18 years at the Brothers of Mercy Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Clarence following a stroke. Now, with limited mobility and speech, he remains a much-loved brother of his class.

As jubilarians, we welcome and thank all who come to celebrate with us today: Bishop Richard J. Malone, our family and friends, priests concelebrating, and all who have supported us along our way to this day.

Several diocesan priests, including the four men who were ordained in June, have received new assignments from Bishop Richard J. Malone.

Sister Patricia Burkard, OSF updates us on happenings with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Williamsville and Cindy Munschauer gives the details of this year's Burgers, Brews & Blues event.

The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Williamsville have now entered Phase II of their property study and are pursuing a senior care provider owner/operator for the community living center and region house at 201 Reist St. for the 62 sisters currently in residence as well as for any additional future sisters currently residing in local mission houses in Western New York.

Several hundred Sisters of Mercy of the Americas gathered for a Walk for Water in Buffalo on Friday morning, June 23. The threat of lightning shortened a walk planned from the sisters' conference site to Canalside, but did not put a damper on their commitment to advocating for the human right to water. A blessing followed a walk up and down Main Street with Community leaders and representatives from the nearby Seneca and Cayuga Native American Nations.

Franciscans from all corners of the nation arrived in Buffalo to be inspired and enlightened at the annual Franciscan Federation Conference. Over 250 sisters, brothers, priests, and a few seculars who have answered the Third Order Regular call gathered at the Adam's Mark in downtown Buffalo for the weekend beginning June 16.

Father Charles Zadora has a pretty low-key outlook of his 50 years as a priest.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced several clergy assignments including naming a new rector for St. Joseph Cathedral.

In its role in serving the Catholic Church in Buffalo, Daybreak TV Productions, part of the Office of Communications' job is to ensure it distributes not just entertainment, but accurate information about the Catholic faith to audiences. Since videographers, producers and others in the field of communications are laypeople and usually not as well versed in theology as clergy and men and women religious, this has led to collaboration between Daybreak staff and other departments in the Catholic Center.

There are two sides to Father Jeffrey Nowak. Not quite Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, more like Father Jeff and Captain Facebook. Both have the same purpose - to deliver the word of God. That is why the diocesan Office of Communications has named him honorary chairperson of the Catholic Communication Campaign.

Bishop Richard J. Malone said he never sees as many smiles as he does during an Ordination Mass. You can see why in our new photo gallery covering the ordination of four new priests.

Bishop Richard J. Malone welcomed a crowd of nearly one thousand at St. Joseph Cathedral Saturday morning by noting that he rarely sees so many smiles in church as on the day of an ordination. On this day, he placed his hands upon the heads for men as he said the ordination prayer making them priests of Jesus Christ forever.

The congregation of St. Gregory the Great Parish invites everyone to join in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the ordination to the priesthood of Pastor Father Leon J. Biernat on Sunday, June 4, at the 12:30 p.m. Mass at St. Gregory's. Following Mass there will be a reception held in the Ministry Center and Parish grounds.

Cole Webster left a career in hotel hospitality to become a concierge for the Lord. The Buffalo native will be ordained to the priesthood June 3.

WASHINGTON, DC - According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate's (CARA) annual survey, 82 percent of the 2017 class of men ordained to the priesthood were encouraged by about four people in their lives including parish priests, friends or other parishioners. The report also says that ordinands were, on average, 16 years old when they first considered a vocation to the priesthood, and religious ordinands reported they knew the members of their religious institute an average of six years before entering.

MARYKNOLL — Father Dennis W. Cleary, MM, of Buffalo, will celebrate the 40th anniversary of his ordination on Sunday, June 25. He is one of 21 Maryknollers to commemorate his ordination to the priesthood or Final Oath as a Maryknoll Brother in ceremonies to be held at the Maryknoll Mission Center in Ossining.

"Rooted in the Gospel we are sisters to all, serving with reverence, justice and compassion." The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities have expressed this mission statement in many ways since the congregation's beginnings in Philadelphia in 1855. While the ways that we live and minister have adapted to the changing needs of the world and the Church over the past 162 years, our mission has remained strong.

An interview from October 1996 with National Circus Chaplain, Father Jerry Hogan.

On June 3, a native of Nigeria will be ordained alongside three other men at St. Joseph Cathedral, when the Diocese of Buffalo will welcome its newest priests to its fold. Currently serving as a transitional deacon, Robert Agbo, who came to the United States and settled in Buffalo in 2013, said he is looking forward to being able to serve God's people in this diocese and celebrate Mass with them in his ministry.

The priesthood is not only in the heart of Father Mark Wolski, it's also in his bloodline. He and his cousin, Father Daniel Fiebelkorn, will celebrate 125 combined years of the clerical vocation for the Wolski family this year.

This summer, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will be convening an unprecedented gathering of diverse leaders from dioceses and Catholic organizations from across the country to assess the challenges and opportunities of our time, particularly in the context of the Church in the United States. An ongoing initiative of the Bishops' Working Group on the Life and Dignity of the Human Person, the Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America, will assemble Catholic leaders in Orlando, Florida for a strategic conversation, under the leadership of the bishops, on forming missionary disciples to animate the Church and to engage the culture.