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Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News)- The Vatican announced Wednesday that Pope Francis has recognized a second miracle allowing five people on the path to sainthood to be canonized, the most prominent being Bl. Pope Paul VI and Bl. Oscar Romero.

BUFFALO, NY - After 50 years of ongoing service to Villa Maria College and its thousands of students, faculty and alumni, Sister Marcella Marie Garus has announced her upcoming retirement, effective June 2018. A Buffalo native, Sister Marcella served for 40 years as Villa Maria College president, making her one of the longest-tenured presidents of a higher education institution both in both Western New York and across North America.

WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, chair of the USCCB's Committee for Religious Liberty urge the faithful to flood Congress with emails and calls asking for enactment of the Conscience Protection Act as part of the 2018 funding bill and to pray for this outcome. Congress is currently considering whether to include the Conscience Protection Act in must-pass government funding legislation, and a decision on the Conscience Protection Act's inclusion will be made prior to March 23, 2018.

Over this past weekend, 800 teenagers encountered and lived for Jesus Christ. On Sunday, March 4, they shared Him through a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Richard J. Malone.

The second day of the 66th annual Diocesan Youth Convention saw the teenage participants still had the energy and enthusiasm they showed on opening night. The bulk of the learning took place on this day, with a variety of large and small speaker sessions on Saturday, March 3.

This is a true story. Over 800 Catholic teenagers gathered at the Adam's Mark looking for a way to better understand their faith. The foot of snow that fell the night before could not deter them from attending the 66th annual Diocesan Youth Convention, held over the weekend of March 2-4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo.

In this era of 24-hour access to news and information, it is sometimes a challenge to find the true story amid fake news and alternative facts. Next weekend, more than 700 youth and adult chaperones will explore and discover who is the truth and the truth about Jesus' love at the 66th annual Diocesan Youth Convention. "True Story" is this year's theme. The weekend convention will be held March 2-4 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo.

The joy and sorrow of modern day pregnancy served as the topic of the evening at the seventh annual benefit to support the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center. EWTN Radio personality Gloria Purvis delivered an address that explained the troubles she had on her journey to have a child.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced the establishment of a voluntary Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) for those who have made claims that they were sexually abused as a child by a member of the clergy in the Diocese of Buffalo. Individuals who have previously made claims will be contacted and invited to participate in this voluntary program offering monetary settlements.

VANCOUVER, Wash. — "Tolton: From Slave to Priest," a riveting new live drama, will make its New York premiere in the Diocese of Buffalo in May, with performances to tentatively include Our Lady of Bistrica in Lackawanna and St. Martin de Porres in Buffalo.

With a population of more than 10 million, Haiti is similar in size to the state of Michigan, but when it comes to medical rehabilitation services, there is no comparison.

EAST AURORA — Immaculate Conception School has been educating the children of East Aurora and the surrounding suburbs for over a century; and for good reason. The school remains dedicated to providing a well rounded quality education true to the Catholic tradition of academic excellence.

Trinity Pediatrics is not like any other doctor's office. Copies of Theology of the Body for children sit in the waiting room. Parents are given full information on vaccines. The doctor prays for her patients.

Longtime educator Sister M. Edwardine Machnica died Feb. 17, 2018, at the age of 85.

In 1988, the University of Notre Dame Campus Ministry department first purchased a small set of Schulmerich bells. Thirty years later, the choir has expanded to cover more than five full octaves, plus three octaves of handchimes, providing music ministry to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the South Bend community, and parishes around the United States.

Students at Sacred Heart Academy will venture to Zambia this summer in an immersion trip sure to change lives of the locals, as well as their own.

KENMORE — St. John the Baptist School lives by the following mission statement: "We teach children to read, so that they may eventually read to learn - and hope that through this process, they develop a lifelong love of reading."

When people hear the word "charity," thoughts of feeding the poor or giving shelter to the homeless are common. But people have needs far beyond the basics. Since its inception, Catholic Charities of Buffalo has offered services to strengthen families and communities. From domestic abuse counseling to school intervention to parenting classes, Catholic Charities works to support the family unit.

For one local Catholic school alumna, a solid foundation early in her academic career led to a life passion for working toward resolving complex global issues.

LANCASTER — St. Mary's High School is beginning a new adjunct professor program that involves bringing in accomplished professionals and college-level professors to guest lecture in certain classes throughout the semester.

This month, during the weekend liturgies, we hear the story of Simon's (Peter's) mother-in-law. The earliest Christians would have heard Mark's Gospel spoken to them or read to them, probably in one or two sittings, not piecemeal as in our Sunday liturgies. So, it is valuable to see Mark's Gospel as an oral performance, similar to a theater play. Thus, it is enlightening to look at the placement of the story of Jesus' healing of Simon's mother-in-law within the gospel.

The Corporate Members and Sponsors Council of Catholic Health has appointed Mark A. Sullivan, FACHE, the new president & CEO of the Buffalo based health system. A veteran healthcare executive, Sullivan has been with Catholic Health since its inception, most recently serving as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer since 2007.

EAST AURORA — The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo is hosting a free workshop, "Good News for Social Media: How Parishes and All Catholics Can Share Faith Online," at Christ the King Seminary on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

For engaged couples making wedding plans, most are typically concerned about reserving a date and venue, hiring a photographer and DJ, and sending out save the date cards and invitations. However, if they plan to have a Catholic ceremony, those who wish to adhere to these practices have other things to plan out.

"Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). It is precisely this directive, from Christ at His ascension, that the third component of the newly-implemented "Forming Disciples" diocesan Lifelong Faith Formation curriculum seeks to illuminate.

Four neighboring Depew and Lancaster parishes are joining together to offer a two-part Lenten retreat, entitled "A Heart for God," on Monday, Feb. 26, and Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. This is the third consecutive year St. Mary of the Assumption, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Our Lady of Pompeii and St. Martha parishes have collaborated on presenting a faith enrichment Lenten program.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, Catholic Women of Buffalo will present their third-annual conference. This year's conference, "The Heart of a Woman," will be held at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Tonawanda, starting at 7:30 a.m., with registration and continental breakfast. It will also include three speakers.

EAST AURORA — Leading national and international speakers, and top creative minds working in theology and philosophy, will converge on Christ the King Seminary on the weekend of Feb. 23-24 for the 2018 Conference for Collaborative Philosophy, Theology and Ministry. The conference's keynote speakers represent institutions from three continents - the U.S., Europe and Australia.

For nearly 50 years, the Catholic Church in the United States has celebrated National Migration Week. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants, including immigrants, refugees and survivors of human trafficking.

The Venerable Nelson H. Baker earned his title "Servant of God" by helping those with the greatest need. Well known as the "Padre of the Poor" and father figure to the orphaned Baker Boys, the Lackawanna hero also had a hand in helping the African-American population in the Diocese of Buffalo.

Sister Elena M. Sinatra, SSHJ, died Feb. 7, 2018, at the age of 83.

Father Samuel J. Faiola, longtime pastor of St. Stephen Parish in Middleport, died Feb. 12, 2018. He was 92.

Following the 18th United States school shooting of 2018 that killed at least 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school Feb. 14, Bishop Richard J. Malone called for prayers and action to stop the ongoing "culture of death."

Hundreds of people spent their lunch hour at St. Joseph Cathedral Feb. 14 to celebrate Mass and receive ashes from Bishop Richard J. Malone on Ash Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return."

When I mentioned to a friend that I intended to write this month's column on the new evangelization, he accused me of having an obsession - a "holy" obsession, he qualified - with that theme. I told him that if I do indeed have such an obsession, it is because I am convinced that the work of helping people encounter Jesus Christ and His saving message is the primary mission of the Church ... at this time, and at all times. Evangelization is, as Blessed Paul VI declared in his 1976 encyclical "Evangelii Nuntiandi," the "deepest identity" of the Church. The Church, he wrote, "exists in order to evangelize" (#14).

A full Church witnessed history on Feb. 11 as Deborah Brown became the first layperson installed as pastoral administrator in the Diocese of Buffalo. Bishop Richard J. Malone installed Brown at St. John the Baptist Parish in Alden during the 11 a.m. Mass.

The oldest priest in the Diocese of Buffalo, Msgr. Paul R. Juenker, died Feb. 8, 2018, at the Brothers of Mercy Nursing Home in Clarence after a short illness. He was 97.

"We value tremendously the service that you render to us," Bishop Richard J. Malone told a gathering of healthcare workers Saturday afternoon at the annual White Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral. "We pray that all of you in the healthcare professions will be guided by the hand of God and sustained by Christ's grace as you engage the art and science of healing body, mind and spirit."

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst'" (John 6:35).