Featured News

Bishop Richard J. Malone interacted with students from Catholic schools during the Diocese of Buffalo 3rd Annual X-Stream Games and Expo. Area Catholic elementary and middle school students competed in the county-wide science fair Sunday afternoon at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute. Look at our exclusive photo gallery here.

The Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, one of the smaller orders of religious women in Buffalo, live with the charism "love and service to the poor." Ten sisters from the Italian-based order serve in Lewiston. Most teach at Sacred Heart Villa, but one sister offers a ministry of prayer and crafting in Our Lady of Peace Nursing Home. Sister Elena Sinatra, SSHJ, lives with cancer and asthma that keeps her tethered to an oxygen tank. A teacher for 52 years, she now volunteers at the very same nursing home where she lives.

Last year at this time, it was a picnic area. Now the expanded rehabilitation center of Catholic Health's McAuley Residence provides physical, occupational and speech therapy to injured and ailing Western New Yorkers. It shows that wonderful things can happen with patience and hard work.

The third annual X-STREAM Expo rolled, bounced and rose through the halls of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Kenmore on Dec. 4. Nearly 1,000 students from more than 25 area Catholic schools demonstrated their knowledge of science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math while competing in robotic, cooking and bridge-building activities.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has declared Father Michael H. Burzynski's relic collection a diocesan shrine to be housed at St. John Gualbert Parish in Cheektowaga. The bishop approved a decree designating the Shrine of the Holy Relics of the Saints in November.

Parishes throughout the Diocese of Buffalo will join parishes across the country on the weekend of Dec. 10 and 11 in holding a special collection for the Retirement Fund for the Religious. The collection, which was initiated in 1988 by Catholic bishops of the United States, helps underwrite retirement and health care expenses.

ORCHARD PARK — The start of the new school year can be overwhelming, especially at a STREAM school. At a welcome-back meeting at St. John Vianney School, faculty informed parents of the fun opportunities it will be offering its students this year. These opportunities have allowed the school to take STREAM to the next level.

The 27th Annual Night of Prayer will be observed Thursday, Dec.8, at 9 p.m. to Friday, Dec. 9, at 1 a.m., Feast of the Immaculate Conception with the Feast of St. Juan Diego.

WASHINGTON—A Day of Prayer with a focus on the plight of refugees and migrants will take place across the United States on December 12, 2016, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It will be a time to place before a merciful God the hopes, fears, and needs of all those families who have come to the U.S. seeking a better life.

In honor of its 140th anniversary as an official diocesan parish, St. Mary of the Angels in Olean held a special Mass on Oct. 30 that rolled out the red carpet for descendants of Father John Hamel, the parish's first pastor. Current pastor Father Gregory Dobson honored Father Hamel's legacy by using his refurbished chalice in the Mass, a gift from parishioners for Hamel's 25th anniversary, viewing his crypt and historical artifacts and visiting the Oratory of the Sacred Heart in Portville, which Father Hamel built generations ago.

The artist in Father Bill Quinlivan cannot be silenced, nor can his love of the Advent and Christmas season. The Singing Priest of South Buffalo has released a book for the season, called "Coming Home for Christmas Through Advent," which offers reflections on themes of the season that come from his two Christmas albums. Topics span the range of holiday ups and downs from gift-wrapping and cooking baking, to nativity sets and being alone.

EAST AURORA — For six, third-year seminarians finishing their pastoral year at Christ the King Seminary, the inaugural "Spiritual Summer" program was a transformative step on their paths to the transitional diaconate and ultimately priesthood.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced that during the Advent season (Nov. 27 - Dec. 24), parishes throughout the eight-county Diocese of Buffalo will have additional hours for confession.

Among the most recent appointments made by Bishop Richard J. Malone are some priest reassignments and new assignments for seven deacons.

CINCINNATI — Topping this week's Billboard Classical Album chart is Dynamic Catholic's new Advent and Christmas CD, "O Emmanuel," which sold 2,600 copies in its first week.

While repentance is a constant theme of the Christian life, the Catholic Church gives the faithful two extended seasons of the liturgical year for the specific purpose of examining our lives and changing our ways. Lent may be better known, but Advent is also a time for sacrifice and humility.

Bishop Richard J. Malone talks about Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent in "Consider This."

As the cold weather began to hit Buffalo and the first snow fell, members of the Polish community of Western New York came together on Nov. 20, at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo, to celebrate the 1,050th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity to Poland. Many Polish-American Western New Yorkers joined Bishop Richard J. Malone, the principal celebrant at the Mass, in honor of both this anniversary and the Feast of Christ the King, which has been an American Catholic tradition since 1925.

NIAGARA FALLS — Since 2014, Niagara Falls has had a local unit of the Federation of North American Explorers, a Catholic outdoor adventure movement for youth that works to promote faith, develop character, and train young people in outdoor skills.

At St. Andrew's Country Day School in Kenmore, Legos, the perennial favorites of children and adults alike, have become a tool for STREAM education instructing children in the fields of science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math. Throughout the months of October and November, the school held an eight-week after school course, the Lego U STREAM Academy, to teach children in lower grades to collaborate with one another, use critical thinking skills and have fun in the process of learning.

The Washington, DC, City Council and the voters of Colorado both recently acted to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called for increased efforts to fight against assisted suicide, saying it must be "opposed with renewed vigor."

ROME, ITALY (CNA/EWTN News) - Although the Jubilee of Mercy has ended, Pope Francis has decided that some of the novelties he applied to the Church during the Holy Year will continue.

Bishop Richard J. Malone celebrated the 1,050th anniversary of Poland's Christianity during a Christ the King Eucharistic Celebration on Nov. 20. It commemorated Poland's acceptance of Christianity in the year 966, when Mieszko I, the first ruler of the Polish state, and much of his court were personally baptized on Holy Saturday of that year.

Parishioners of St. Benedict's received a warm welcome from a group of young adults last month. Members of Dynamis WNY, a New Evangelization effort inspired by St. John Paul II, greeted those who entered the Eggertsville church as part of the group's hospitality effort.

LANCASTER — Gabrielle Burkard, a junior at St. Mary's High School, had the opportunity to participate in the Junior Robotic Surgery Challenge over the summer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The challenge introduced participants to various career opportunities within health care using hands-on, practical exercises and classroom instruction as well as guest lectures from accomplished professionals.

As Pope Francis' Jubilee Year of Mercy comes to a close, we need to remember to continue sharing mercy and compassion with others. Watch Bishop Richard J. Malone in "Consider This."

Catholic Charities of Buffalo celebrated the opening of its new Health Care Center on Buffalo's West Side with a dedication and blessing. Designed to be a "one-stop shop" for refugees, the center will offer primary medical, dental and educational resources in the former Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, school and rectory on Herkimer Street.

The time was the early 1890s. The membership at St. Stan's was over 20,000, and the journey to worship there was a long and difficult walk, passing through the New York Central Rail Terminal and crossing dangerous train tracks, which took many lives. Father Jan Pitass, pastor of St. Stanislaus, decided to divide his parish and form another faith community.

BALTIMORE, MD. (CNA/EWTN News) - After the recent presidential election, the new president of the U.S. Bishops is adamant about standing with all vulnerable persons, including the unborn and immigrants.

Catechists, scout masters, altar servers, parents and mentors of all ages received recognition for their work with diocesan youth at the annual Youth Ministry Awards Banquet presented by the diocesan Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministry and Bishop Richard J. Malone. The Nov. 4 banquet, held at Lucarelli's Banquet Center in Lackawanna, spotlights teens who serve their parishes as intentional followers of Christ, and the adults who help guide them.

Just in time for the cold winter months, children in Niagara Falls have a brand new indoor modern athletic facility for playing softball, volleyball, tennis or soccer. The Niagara Community Center has opened on property formerly owned by the Diocese of Buffalo, behind Niagara Catholic Junior and Senior High School, on 66th Street in Niagara Falls.

As a newly-ordained young priest serving at St. Mark Parish in Rushford, Father David Griffin, who is now retired, conducted his first wedding ceremony, that of Desider and Dorothy Simcoe III, on Sept. 10, 1966. Today, the couple has been married for 50 years and, to commemorate their golden anniversary, the Simcoes and Father Griffin held a celebration at St. Mark's with a congregation of family members.

On Saturday, Nov. 19, Bishop Richard J. Malone will be main celebrant at the final Rosary Novena for Life for 2016. Mass at St. Rose of Lima Parish, Parkside and Parker avenues, Buffalo, will begin at 8 a.m. and will be followed by a peaceful, prayerful procession to a nearby abortion clinic (optional). At the clinic, participants will pray the rosary with the hope that today's society will choose life instead of abortion. The group will return to St. Rose of Lima for closing prayers.

Some people take home their parish bulletins and hang them up on their refrigerator. Now St. Mary of the Angels Church in Olean is making an even stronger connection to its parishioners by putting new updates right in their pockets.

On the opening day of the Catholic bishops' annual fall assembly in Baltimore, Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, discussed plans for an unprecedented gathering of Catholic leaders next July in Orlando, Florida.

A grand opening to celebrate the completion of the Catholic Charities Health Care Center, located on its Immigration and Refugee Assistance campus in Buffalo, now that both health care providers are operational, will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the converted former Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, 10 Herkimer St., Buffalo. Brief remarks will begin at 3:30 p.m. All are invited.

On this month's encore episode of "Our Daily Bread," host Father Paul D. Seil takes a ride out to Arcade, located in the southwest corner of Wyoming County.

As a decorated World War II veteran, retired New York State Supreme Court Judge James B. Kane Jr. transitioned from the Army Air Forces to the bench after completing his tour of duty. Last month, the nonagenarian discussed his military service and being shot down over Europe, accomplishments as a judge and his wife, Marie, who passed away earlier this year, as well as his Catholic faith.

Ted Drews remembers his war stories all too vividly. The former Marine saw things during World War II that have haunted him for 70 years. Now 90 years old, the Tonawanda resident still recalls burying his dead buddies on the sands of Iwo Jima.

On Sept. 23, the Vatican announced it has slightly modified requirements for scientifically confirming occurrences alleged to be miracles. Among other changes, the Vatican is now requiring a larger number, a supermajority of two-thirds of medical experts, testifying that there is no medical or scientific explanation for an occurrence, as well as requiring the experts be compensated via bank transfer rather than cash. However, this will not yet have an impact on Venerable Nelson Baker's cause for canonization.