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Throughout the long history of our diocese, we have been served by hundreds and hundreds of dedicated priests. Today, there are 128 retired diocesan priests incurring the cost of living either on their own or the cost of living in one of our diocesan retirement homes.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops offers some thoughts on Faithful Witness to Marriage

Msgr. Paul Juenker, a retired diocesan priest who now lives at the O'Hara Residence in Tonawanda, spoke about the services the diocese provides to its retired clergy, which the priests' retirement fund would benefit.

Msgr. James Connelly's grandmother planted the idea of becoming a priest during his first Communion. A speaker at Bennett High School in Buffalo cultivated it. A priest mentioned how an ordinary student could become a priest if God was calling him. That priest, Father Michael Gallagher, assisted Msgr. Connelly many years later at his first Mass after ordination.

The Buffalo Mass Mob is heading to St. Margaret's Church on Sunday, August 7, 2016 for 9:30 a.m. Mass. This is the 17th Mass Mob the group has staged since it was founded in 2013 to help struggling inner city churches fill their pews.

ZAKOPANE, POLAND - Bishop Richard J. Malone once again met up with diocesan pilgrims who flew to Poland for World Youth Day. Although much of the bishop's time in Poland was spent at catechesis sessions for other dioceses, he managed to meet up with pilgrims from Buffalo on several occasions.

KRAKOW, POLAND - As the sun rose over Krakow's Field of Mercy, over 2 million people woke up in anticipation of Mass with Pope Francis. The current pontiff, following in the footsteps of his predecessors St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, celebrated Sunday Mass on the closing day of World Youth Day.

At St. Pius X Parish in Getzville, members of the parish community came together to celebrate the Year of Mercy, as Pope Francis declared, and to recognize the mercy of God through the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, presentations from parish leaders, inspirational videos and testimonials of parishioners who felt they have been touched by, or witnessed firsthand, the role of divine mercy in their lives.

The Diocese of Buffalo will hold its first-ever collection intended specifically for the benefit of retired diocesan priests on the weekend of Aug. 6 to Aug. 7. One of these priests, Msgr. Dino Lorenzetti, currently lives at the O'Hara Residence behind Cardinal O'Hara High School in Tonawanda.

Many of us are familiar with arranging for the care of an aging parent. As sons and daughters, it's the right thing to do. We should consider it a similar responsibility to provide health care for our aging diocesan priests.

KRAKOW, POLAND (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis challenged massive crowds of young people at World Youth Day's final vigil to step away from the "sofa" of comfort and convenience, and respond to Christ's call to transform a suffering world.

KRAKOW, Poland — Early in the morning of Saturday, July 30, the seventh early morning of the week, nearly 150 pilgrims from the Diocese of Buffalo walked on foot to see Pope Francis.

Bishop Richard J. Malone reminds us that Pope Francis encourages us to be Missionary Disciples and to make mercy the theme of our life in "Consider This: Good News Every Day."

KRAKOW, POLAND (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis paid a solemn visit to the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps on Friday, where over a million people are believed to have lost their lives. At the memorials, he gave no speech and prayed in silence, but instead wrote in the guest book two simple lines begging for God's mercy and forgiveness.

KRAKOW, POLAND - Poland has a lot to offer Catholic pilgrims looking for history and stories associated with their, and other, faiths.

About 200 pilgrims from the Diocese of Buffalo are currently attending World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland, and so are we. Staff reporter Patrick J. Buechi is documenting the journey of these local Catholics, and you can see it for yourself in our new photo gallery.

CZESTOCHOWA, POLAND (CNA/EWTN News) - Those who embrace their own littleness become the "spokespersons" of God, Pope Francis said during Mass at the shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, celebrating the 1050 anniversary of Poland becoming a Christian nation. It was the first major event of the Pope's trip to the country for the 31st World Youth Day.

KRAKOW, POLAND - The Tauron Arena in Krakow, Poland, hosted cardinals, singers, theologians and pilgrims as it became Mercy Center, a main site for World Youth Day 2016.

KRAKOW, POLAND - World Youth Day 2016 officially kicked off Tuesday, July 26, at 6 p.m., with a welcoming Mass by the shepherd of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz.

Laura Szczepankiewicz came to Krakow to meet as many people as she could. And she has the photographic proof to show she met her goal.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis has decried the "absurd violence" which has left an elderly priest dead after his church in northern France was taken hostage during Mass.

KRAKOW, POLAND - On Sunday, July 24, World Youth Day pilgrims got as close as they could to a full night's sleep before heading out at 8 a.m. to Czestochowa, Poland to visit the Jasna Góra Monastery and shrine.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Pope Francis has asked for prayers as he, and all the pilgrims attending this year's World Youth Day, prepare to make their way to Krakow, Poland for the international event.

While pilgrims are in Poland celebrating with the pope, locals will be doing the same at the seminary.

"We have an exciting journey ahead of us," said Bishop Richard J. Malone to some of the 200 local pilgrims who are headed for World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. During a send-off Mass Friday afternoon at Our Lady of Victory Basilica, the bishop said "I ask you to keep in mind one simple truth. The experience we're sharing is all about Jesus."

Over the summer, bonfires blaze, children are out of school and summer clothes make their return from the back of the closet. However, for parishes in the diocese, summer is also a prime opportunity for faith formation and ensuring parishes and their faith remain strong throughout warmer months of the year in Buffalo.

Nearly six months into the public phase of the Upon This Rock capital campaign, some of the first parishes to get involved are seeing the benefits of the generous support from their parishioners.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Even though World Youth Day doesn't start until next week, thousands of pilgrims from throughout the world are already descending on Krakow ahead of the official event.

Mike Maloney will never forget the day in 2012 that his doctor told him he had ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The life expectancy for someone with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is about three to five years. On that day, he began coming to grips with the possibility of having about a thousand days to live.

"We cannot be couch potatoes," said Sister Simone Campbell, SSS to dozens of people gathered at a busy intersection in downtown Buffalo. It was part of her 'Nuns on the Bus' tour which stopped briefly, Wednesday morning, at St Paul's Episcopal Church.

Christian pilgrimages began as a following in the footsteps of Jesus. Today, the term is used to describe a journey to a religious shrine for the purpose of strengthening one's faith. A pilgrim, therefore, is a person who travels to grow in his or her faith, experience the faith, and often, to share one's faith.

One of the highlights of summer in the Southtowns each year is the lawn fete at St. John Vianney Parish in Orchard Park. The 24th annual event will take place from Friday, July 22, to Sunday, July 24. The lawn fete will run on Friday and Saturday from 6 to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 10 p.m.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Several recent appointments by Pope Francis to Vatican departments show that his reform of the Roman Curia is in tune with what he's said from the beginning about his vision for the Church.

United States have observed the Fortnight for Freedom in preparation for Independence Day on July 4. The theme set by the U.S. Bishops' Conference for this year's fortnight is "Witnesses to Freedom."

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Archbishop William E. Lori - as chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, respectively - commended the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (S. 304) on July 13 in a 245-182 bipartisan vote.

When Pope Francis announced the Holy Year of Mercy, he offered it as a special time for Catholics to receive blessings and pardons from God. In turn, people were asked to offer mercy to others in the form of forgiveness and assistance.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has reappointed Father Angelo M. Chimera pastor of All Saints Parish, Buffalo, for a second term of six years. His appointment was effective June 29.

Father William "Jud" Weiksnar, OFM, of the Holy Name Province in Buffalo, returned home in June from a two-week trip to Italy for a meeting on justice, peace and the integrity of creation. The gathering brought together Franciscans from throughout the world who discussed the importance of caring for creation and the lasting impact of Pope Francis' encyclical on the environment, "Laudato Si."

Nearly 200 people responded to the deaths of two black men and five police officers with a prayer for peace. Representatives of area religious organizations joined together for a citywide prayer vigil.

Pope Francis encourages says us to open our eyes to the world without cynicism and indifference. The world will not change until we show compassion and mercy to everyone we meet. Bishop Richard Malone explains in "Consider This."