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As you enter our Maker Space at Immaculate Conception School, you are greeted by the technology room mascot Mip. Mip is a programmable robot that energizes the children from the moment they enter the room. This energy is important as the students begin engaging in various robotic projects such as assembling Hummingbird Robitic kits made out of circuit boards and craft materials, programming Legos to complete tasks or preparing newly purchased underwater Sea Perch robots for a test swim.

ORCHARD PARK — Teachers and parents will be offering tours of Nativity of Our Lord School and welcome all families interested in a proven Catholic education for their children. The open house takes place Sunday, Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Diocese of Buffalo has established the Adult Sexual Abuse and Misconduct Task Force. The group will review and recommend policies and procedures for assessing and responding to allegations of sexual misconduct with adults by priests, deacons, religious and lay employees. The Task Force will ensure that the diocesan policies for adult abuse and misconduct complement the existing diocesan policy on child abuse. In addition, the Task Force will review the investigation framework of sexual abuse allegations to ensure compliance with federal and state law, canon law, and the Diocese of Buffalo Code of Conduct to ensure the protection of all of God's people.

Christmas is over. Lent has not yet begun. How does a spirit-filled teen keep the faith in this middling time? The annual diocesan Youth Convention offers teens an opportunity to Power Up their faith over a three-day weekend filled with good talks, prayer and nearly a thousand new friends.

Many years ago as a young man born and raised in Baltimore, I spent a very different week getting a taste of life in Appalachia.

Recently the curtain went up on the Iroquois High School Drama Club production of "Godspell." While there have been many productions and revivals of the 1971 original, I was proud to be a part of this production. There are challenges inherent in pulling any production together, but "Godspell" presented its own unique ones.

Catholic Health has obtained $5.07 million from Community Partners of WNY to support the development of D'Youville College's Health Professions Hub. In October, leaders from the college and the health system announced plans to collaborate on the 50,000 square-foot clinical training center, which will create a unique and innovative learning environment for students, while offering families in the college's West Side neighborhood greater access to high quality primary care services.

Edward Cosgrove, MD, has been named medical director of the Emergency Department at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo. He is a member physician of TEAMHealth, Northeast Division, which services the hospital.

Bishop Richard J. Malone announced appointments for three area priests.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY — Niagara University and Niagara County Community College announced a new partnership that will increase engagement and improve collaboration between the two colleges, creating a seamless continuum of learning and leadership that expands programming in keeping with the workforce, economic and entrepreneurial needs of the region.

"Victim's first." That is the commitment of Bishop Richard J. Malone and all the bishops of New York. "Our principle in anything we say or do, it has to be victims first. That's the first concern. I tell that to our priests."

Catholic Health has appointed William B. Pryor to the position of chief administrative officer. Pryor comes to Catholic Health from Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, N.C., where he served as chief human resource officer for the past 10 years.

As we continue this Christmas season and begin the calendar year, the faculty, staff and students of Christ the King Seminary would like to offer you a blessed season of hope and joyous New Year of encounters with the Lord. We also believe this start to the new year is the perfect opportunity to give you a brief description of seminary life today as compared to around 50 years ago, as well as offer you a glimpse into changes that will be forthcoming.

Kenmore Mercy Hospital passed a milestone on December 10, 2018, when Richard J. Buckley Jr., MD, FACS, completed his 500th surgery using the da Vinci Robot surgical system at Kenmore Mercy Hospital. The hospital's first da Vinci robotic surgery took place on Feb. 24, 2016.

Girls at Nativity School, in Orchard Park are making headlines for a good cause, literally. These eighth-graders wrote, designed and printed their own newspaper to raise money for the children at Mother Teresa Home in Buffalo.

Rooted in a Catholic mission to honor Christ by serving those most in need, the Brothers of Mercy was founded in Hadamar, Germany in 1856. For over 160 years, professed brothers have dedicated their lives to serving the sick and elderly all over the world. One such brother carrying on this legacy of compassionate care is Brother Xavier O'Neill.

The Upon This Rock committee presented its first emergency grant to Assumption Parish in, appropriately enough, Black Rock. The $20,000 grant will go to replacing a much-needed furnace used by the century-old church and the adjacent Our Lady of Black Rock School.

Our diocese is blessed with the opportunity to have welcomed so many refugees and migrants from various parts of the world. Our children have the opportunity of learning from the various immigrants and refugees who speak over 84 languages. What an awesome opportunity to learn these various languages as we teach English as a second language.

Each January busloads of Catholics travel to Washington, D.C., to sorrowfully commemorate the widespread legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade. Each year folks pray, march and advocate for an end to the atrocity that abortion has been in our country for 45 years. Their actions should bring us to a continuing awareness of the attacks on life in our country.

The Respect Life Committee of St. John the Baptist Church in Kenmore, will hold their 35th annual Novena for Life beginning on Monday, Jan. 14, and closing on Tuesday, Jan. 22, the 46th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on abortion.

Catholic Charities has announced their launch of the 2019 Appeal with a goal of $11 million. $1.4 million havs already been raised. The theme for Appeal 2019 is "Help your neighbor find HOPE."

Sister M. Johnice Rzadkiewicz CSSF, executive director of the Response to Love Center came to Notre Dame Academy on Wednesday, Jan. 9 to accept a donation from the fourth-grade class.

Bishop Richard J. Malone will celebrate a special Mass for the observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The 10 a.m. Mass will be held on Sunday, Jan. 20, at Blessed Trinity Church, 317 Leroy Ave., Buffalo 14214. Guest homilist will be Father Clarence Williams, CPPS, Ph.D. All are welcome.

This year marks the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. A special Mass will be held on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 4 p.m. at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, 4125 Union Road, Cheektowaga. Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, will be the main celebrant and homilist.

ST. BONAVENTURE — St. Bonaventure University has signed an agreement with D'Youville College in Buffalo that will allow graduates of SBU's master's degree program in Educational Leadership to get a head start on D'Youville's doctoral program.

With the start of a new year, a season of unlimited and fresh opportunities for growth is opening up before us. On a weekly basis, most of us become informed about these great prospects for human and spiritual development either through our weekly parish bulletins or digital media. Filled with obvious invitations to intensify our spiritual lives, our parish bulletins and the digital platforms to which we have become accustomed contain both obvious and hidden nuggets of holiness and wisdom that can lead us to a personal experience of epiphany.

The Presbyteral Council and the Vicars Forane met with Bishop Richard Malone on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. The priests committed themselves to work together with Bishop Malone to move forward in the healing process of the victims of clergy sexual abuse, the healing of the divisions within our diocese, and hope-filled steps towards the spiritual renewal and healing of our brother priests and all in our diocese. With these goals in mind, the following actions steps are being initiated:

My column will be brief this month, as I want to leave space for an important statement from the priests who serve our diocese as vicars or members of the Presbyteral Council.

Take this simple quiz: 1. What is Catholic Relief Services? 2. What year did CRS begin, and why? 3. How many countries does CRS serve? 4. What are the guiding principles of CRS? 5. What three words used in the CRS logo define our purpose?

A once in a lifetime trip to Zambia for local girls turned into the beginning of a new life for girls in the south central African nation. Along with making new friends on the mission trip, the Sacred Heart students provided the gift of education for the African students in the form of four years of tuition.

The 19th annual Catholic education dinner - GALA 22:6 - will be held Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. Proceeds from the dinner will be used to fund needs-based tuition assistance for students attending Catholic elementary schools throughout the eight counties of Western New York. The 2018 dinner raised $353,708 resulting in 295 scholarships created.

The gospel reading for this coming fourth Sunday of Advent recounts Mary's "hasty" visit to Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-45). Many reflections on this passage focus on Mary and rightly so since verse 42 is in the first part of our Hail Mary.

In timing with World Stroke Awareness Day, Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns and C.J. Urlaub, president and CEO of Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, announced the results of the 'Stroke Prevention Carotid Artery Screenings' conducted at the Erie County Auto Bureaus. This program was a continued, collaborative effort between the clerk's office and the hospital to help improve health in our community, through the Clerk's Wellness Collaborative.

On December 20, 2018, the independent Diocesan Review Board met and carefully considered the report of Investigator Scott F. Riordan who was asked to investigate an allegation of clerical sexual abuse of a minor against Father Ronald P. Sajdak of the Diocese of Buffalo.

Three students at Mount St. Mary Academy have used their talents to help those afflicted with Alzheimer's. They created a cognitive coloring book to help draw back memories. Actually, they created more than a product. They created an entire business.

Students at Christ the King School are jumping into STREAM education to develop skills for the future.

Born 75 years ago as a result of the refugee crisis that unfolded during World War II, Catholic Relief Services, the international relief and development agency of the United States Catholic Church, has since grown into one of the largest humanitarian aid agencies in the world while responding to some of the most devastating modern crises of our time.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Harris Hill and St. Stephen Church on Grand Island are two of the parishes that host healing Masses.

The poet T.S. Eliot once wrote, "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." Taking a risk and entering the unknown begins a great adventure whose final destination is unknown and whose results cannot be calculated. God took a great risk and began a great adventure when he decided to send Jesus to the world.

Just the thought of Mass is very moving for many, but music is one of the many ways to give everything to God. Just closing your eyes and listening to the melody, listening to the lyrics and praying the song can make you at peace and aware that God is with you.