Featured News

Bishop Richard J. Malone announced Tuesday Catholic Charities' 91st annual Appeal has raised $7,432,587.16 to date, representing 68 percent of the $10.9 million goal. The total includes monies collected and reported by parish volunteers during the opening weekend (March 21-22) of Appeal Week 2015, the period which marks the strongest push for parish donations. The total reported is more than $500,000 short of where Catholic Charities' officials and the Appeal leadership team hoped to be after the first Sunday.

The Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity at Stella Niagara are providing an after-school tutoring program for young children in Niagara Falls.

The following liturgies are scheduled for Holy Week at St. Joseph Cathedral.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and Father Ryszard Biernat recently delivered meals to some of the area's homebound through Meals on Wheels for WNY.

To continue the forward motion of this exciting diocesan initiative, more than 160 teachers from the 10 pilot STREAM (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math) schools in the Diocese of Buffalo took part in a professional development program Friday afternoon.

Over two dozen people gathered in Dunkirk to pay respects to a life lost. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish hosted a memorial service on March 14, for "Baby Jesse." a fetus discovered last August on the shore of Lake Erie State Park just south of Dunkirk.

Judas Iscariot, the most hated man in history, will speak at the 13th annual Men's Conference on March 21. The conference will also welcome musician Deacon Allen Tatara and wild man Mark Houck.

No doubt about it; St. Patrick's Day is one of the fun days of the year, particularly if you're Irish Catholic. After a Sunday morning Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral, Bishop Richard J. Malone joined the afternoon parade that drew thousands to downtown Buffalo. Be sure to catch all the fun in our new photo gallery.

The Most Rev. Richard J. Malone, Th.D., bishop of Buffalo, will be the main celebrant at the special St. Patrick's Day Mass preceding the 75th annual St. Patrick's Day parade. As in the past, members of the United Irish-American Association will be in attendance, including parade grand marshal Denice Morrison of Darien Center.

In preparation for the October 2015 XIV Ordinary General Assembly at the Vatican, Bishop Richard J. Malone is asking Catholic priests and their parishioners to discuss and reflect upon the role and place of the family in the world today.

There is an embarrassing story my family loves to recount every Christmas. It is, of course, about me. I was very small, perhaps in first-grade. The only remaining present for me under the tree was from my aunt. When I opened the beautifully wrapped package and discovered a sweater - hand-knitted, no less - I tossed it to the ground and broke out in tears. What I had wanted more than anything else was a little toy fire truck. And no one had given it to me ... not even my aunt.

Feb. 18 marked the beginning of Lent, which can be described as the period spent preparing for Easter. Lasting 40 days, it commemorates Jesus' time in the desert, where He fasted, prayed and was tempted by the devil.

Msgr. Kevin T. O'Neill, canonical administrator at Mary Queen of Angels Regional School in Cheektowaga, reflected upon his work supporting Catholic schools after he received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the annual Catholic education dinner for his ministry and service in January.

Bishop Donald W. Trautman, bishop emeritus of Erie, Pa., will return home to the Diocese of Buffalo in March to lead a Lenten retreat at Immaculate Conception Parish in East Aurora on March 15, 16 and 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisc., former chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, offers "10 Things to Remember for Lent."

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, who served as Archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009, passed away Thursday at the age of 82.

As the season of Lent progresses, so will a Lenten tradition at a Southern Tier parish. For years, Holy Name of Mary Parish in Ellicottville has maintained a yearly Lenten prayer cross, which remains common among the parishioners as well as visitors to the region's popular ski resorts.

VATICAN CITY (CNA) — The "globalization of indifference" was at the heart of Pope Francis' Lenten message in which he urged the faithful to fight individualism with merciful hearts that are more attentive to the needs of others.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Be a member of the Harmonia Chamber Singers, as the local a cappella group has been chosen to perform at the world famous New York City venue on Friday, March 13. But if you don't have enough money for airfare, hotel and concert tickets, you can catch Harmonia perform locally on the first weekend of March.

Those who have visited the website at www.wnycatholic.org recently, may have noticed a few changes. A lot of changes. A whole new website.

EAST AURORA — In celebration of Black History Month in February, Immaculate Conception School welcomed dancers and a drummer from the African-American Cultural Center to teach students about African dance.

Bishop Richard Malone explains what the Liturgy of the Hours are and how they can strengthen prayer life in a brand new episode of "Consider This."

Father Czeslaw Krysa said that Scripture reading is the single most important thing Catholics should do during the Lenten season of prayer and fasting. The diocesan director of the Office of Worship said a good focus would be on reading the prophets and the Psalms. Since Catholics are called to fast during this time, Father Krysa also suggested some different ways they might experience this special sacrificing.

The Program of Priestly Formation lists those responsible for the discovery and promotion of a religious vocation. It comments the bishop, the presbyterate, the vocation director, the seminary and seminarians as all having vital roles in caring "for the birth, discernment and fostering of vocations, particularly to the priesthood."

Parish outreach programs provide needed assistance, companionship and, most importantly, listening ears to offer support and a warm sense of community. At St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Tonawanda, the outreach center co-coordinators, Rita Alviti and Karen Szafran, give back to their community as a key facet of their jobs.

In recognition of the changing nature of public policy advocacy and communication, and in an effort to use the Church's resources in these areas most effectively, the bishops of New York state have determined that the "Catholics at the Capitol" lobby day in Albany will not be held this year and is not likely to be held in subsequent years.

Every year the Diocesan Vocation Office produces and distributes a vocation poster to every parish in the diocese. This year the poster was done in two sizes and it focuses on Pope Francis as he ordains a young man to the priesthood at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Both of the posters contain a quote from Pope Francis on vocations. Have you seen these posters in your church or school?

Last weekend was the annual Diocesan Youth Convention, Restore 2015, which drew about 850 teens to the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo. Relive some top moments in our exclusive photo gallery.

For many years a small group of parishioners at St. John Kanty Parish in Buffalo have been getting together to make pierogi. It all started in the mid 1980s when the former church secretary, Lorraine Wiernik, along with the pastor, Msgr. Robert Golombek, came up with the idea of selling fish frys during Lent.

Austen Ivereigh, author and founder of Catholic Voices, has written an in-depth biography of Pope Francis. "The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope" offers 391 pages of insights that show what shaped the current pontiff.

WASHINGTON—A variety of resources to help Catholics observe Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, this year February 18, is being provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Season of Lent.

Is the Catholics Come Home campaign over at your parish? Let's hope not.

On the eve of St. Valentine's Day, the same day that "50 Shades of Grey" opened, the 63rd annual diocesan Youth Convention also opened. As a reaction to the hedonist message that society gives teenagers, the convention held the theme of Restore.

The Diocese of Buffalo will host catechetical leaders from throughout the United States in May. The 79th annual National Conference for Catechetical Leadership conference and exposition will take place at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in Buffalo from May 18 to May 21, with pre-conference events May 17.

With the coldest temperatures of the winter forecast for this Sunday, Bishop Richard J. Malone is advising Catholics to exercises extreme caution when it comes to attending Mass.

The diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities held its fourth annual banquet to support the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center on Feb. 11. The dinner gathered those who work in the pro-life ministries throughout the diocese to hear the testimonies of people affected by the center. Bishop Richard J. Malone led a prayer for those in attendance.

Unlike some Christian churches which tend to be self-contained, self-sufficient and freestanding, our Catholic parishes are distinct faith communities within the larger Church community that we call the diocese. For us Catholics of Western New York, the "Diocese of Buffalo" is another way of speaking about the entire Roman Catholic community of our eight counties - all of the people (laity, religious, priests and deacons), as well as our parishes, schools, colleges and universities, health care and human service ministries, and so much more.

Approximately 700 Catholic youth and adult chaperones will be in attendance at the 63rd annual Diocesan Youth Conference this weekend. This year's theme is "Restore."

As Catholics, we are called to serve others, not through faith, but through service by way of our faith.