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One of Buffalo's own received recognition for her years of dedicated service to Catholic education. Nancy DiBerardino, administrative assistant for the diocesan Catholic School's Department, received the Lighting the Fire for Education Award from the Catholic School Administrators Association of New York State in November.

The son of the late Michael Henry McLaughlin and Mary Agnes Curran McLaughlin, Bishop McLaughlin was born in North Tonawanda on Nov. 19, 1912, a life that lasted a remarkable 102 years before his passing on Jan. 5, 2015.

Most Reverend Bernard J. McLaughlin, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Buffalo, died Monday evening, Jan. 5, 2015, at his home in Kenmore, one day before he would have celebrated the 46th anniversary of his ordination as a bishop.

Every human person, male and female, is created in God's image, created to live in relationship

Bishop Richard J. Malone will announce the goal, theme and patron saint of the 91st annual appeal to support Catholic Charities' services provided throughout Western New York and the Bishop's Fund for the Faith on Wednesday, Jan. 7, The kick-off event will be held at 10:30 a.m., at Catholic Charities' A Gathering Place, a daily social program for adults 60 years of age and older, located at 128 Wilson St., Buffalo.

Sister Theresa Eugene LeClair went to the Lord Jan. 2, 2015, in the health care center of St. Elizabeth Motherhouse in Allegany.

Father James Czerwinski passed away Jan. 2, 2015, at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston, Mass., at 67 years old. Father Czerwinski was born Nov. 26, 1947, in Buffalo, to Walter J. and Elizabeth (Swaitkowski) Czerwinski.

Father Francis J. Jann died Dec. 31, 2014, at the age of 92, in Brothers of Mercy Nursing Home in Clarence.

Bishop Richard Malone answers a viewer's question: "What do you like to read?"

For any celebration or holiday, the first thing we usually think about is sharing food. There is no doubt about it. Having a meal with friends and family is an experience of recalling our past with each other, strengthening the bonds we have, and sharing our hopes for the future. It's no wonder that Jesus was so often eating and drinking with people of His time - and that He left us an ultimate meal to share with each other.

Consider this: the Holy Family. Bishop Richard Malone speaks about an ecumenical gathering he attended, which Pope Francis called the Complementarity of Man and Woman in Marriage. Pope Francis says marriage and the family are in crisis and we need a human ecology to protect the environment where human beings grow and thrive.

Father Czeslaw Krysa ensures his parishioners at St. Casimir are aware of the significance of St. Nicholas. The beloved saint is near and dear not only to his own heart, but to many of those in Eastern European Catholic Churches as well. St. Nicholas visits the parish each year on his feast day, Dec. 6, to teach children to pray.

Bishop Richard J. Malone celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ before a few hundred people during the annual midnight Christmas Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo Thursday.

Have you ever wondered what newcomers notice at your church? The first impression may determine whether they decide to return or just keep shopping. The best ways to be guest-friendly may surprise you.

What draws teenagers into a life of faithful church worship? The answers might surprise you.

A Mass marking the observance of the 42nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 4:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine, Ridge Road and South Park Ave., Lackawanna. The Most Reverend Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, will be the celebrant.

Viewers throughout the country will tune in to Bishop Richard J. Malone and a full Mercy Center Chapel in Buffalo as he celebrates Christmas Mass which will be broadcast on NBC affiliates on Christmas day, courtesy of Daybreak Television Productions and the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission.

Bishop Richard J. Malone, 14th bishop of Buffalo, has named Kevin A. Keenan, former communications director for the Diocese of Buffalo, diocesan representative to the New York State Public Policy Committee.

During the Christmas season we tend to forget the true meaning of Christmas, allowing the hustle and bustle of the season to replace what is really important - the birth of a beautiful baby born in a manger to a woodworker and his wife.

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Consider this: The 4th Sunday of Advent. Bishop Richard J. Malone asks that we take time to reflect on the wonder of the gift of the incarnation. God so loved the world he gave His only begotten Son.

A parishioner of Resurrection Parish in Batavia has designed a large display which includes much of the important symbolism and an explanation of the season of Advent, as the Church readies for the celebration of Christ's birth.

St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo, has scheduled a number of celebrations during the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Some may have left home because of the feeling of being neglected, abandoned, abused, burned out and discriminated against by the actions taken by some in the Church. Maybe some just stopped coming because life just got too busy, so they fell into a routine. It may be possible that leaders who were in the Church said something to them that scared them away. That person may not be there any longer. It is up to those who are attending Church now to invite those people to come back home for Christmas, and to continue coming.

Despite being postponed due to the Snovember storm, young people and the adults who guide them received their due recognition at the Witness the Spirit awards banquet on Dec. 13, 1014. The event, sponsored by the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, was held at Nardin Academy in Buffalo.

Lewiston might be not quite be the North Pole, but the elves of Our Lady of Fatima Shrine are working hard to make Christmas special for everyone. The Barnabite Fathers who direct the shrine are preparing their 24th annual Festival of Lights.

The Diocese of Buffalo held its first meeting of World Youth Day 2016 pilgrims on Oct. 26. About 60 people met at St. John Paul II Parish in Lake View to hear speakers talk about what WYD has meant to them.

Consider this: Bishop Richard J. Malone suggests we invite those around us who have fallen away from the Church back during the Advent season.

Christmas is creeping up fast. Your "to do" list seems to be getting longer instead of shorter. We all know the true meaning of Christmas is not the cookies, the shopping, the wrapping and the meal planning. So in the spirit of holiday list making, I took the liberty of making one.

The diocesan schools selected to pilot the STREAM initiative participated in an international program designed to encourage more children to become interested in the quickly growing field of computer science and also help prepare for careers.

For one retired Sister of Mercy, serving the community involved joining the same religious order that touched and changed her own life as a teen at Mount Mercy Academy in South Buffalo. She later went on to become a teacher and administrator herself at many diocesan schools.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has teamed up with the local Episcopal Bishop R. William Franklin to ask Western New York to include women and minorities in the growth of Buffalo.

On Dec. 7, Catholic school students used science, engineering and technology to move blocks, hold erasers and launch bottles into the sky. The students took part in an X STREAM Games and Expo sponsored by the diocesan Department of Catholic Education, held at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Kenmore.

As the Church begins the celebration of the Year of Consecrated Life, the women and men of the Diocese of Buffalo are most grateful for the generosity that has been shown over the past 26 years through the Retirement Fund For Religious collection. During the 2013 campaign, the Diocese of Buffalo submitted $848,000 to the national office for the care of the retired religious.

There was a time when Sister M. Rosalma Pawlak, CSSF, used to visit the elderly sisters in her order to keep their spirits up by enjoying their company. Now Sister Rosalma is on the other side of that relationship after a long, varied ministry that saw her work in many different avenues.

Monday was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation that celebrates Mary, Mother of Jesus, as being uniquely conceived without original sin.

Sister Loretta Janiszewski, FSSJ, has served her community for more than 65 years. Throughout that time her ministry of both teaching and serving in a pastoral ministry has enabled her to grow in her faith while helping others.

The tradition of celebrating the diocesan Family Mass the Second Sunday of Advent continued on Dec. 7, when Bishop Richard J. Malone presided at St. Gabriel Church in Elma. Until 2013, the Mass was celebrated at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo, but is now celebrated in parishes.

WASHINGTON—The 27th national collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious will be held in parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo and throughout the United States on the weekend of December 13 and 14. The annual, parish-based appeal is coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) and benefits more than 35,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests.

Television viewers across Western New York will begin to see "evangomercials TM" beginning in mid-December, offering inspiring stories of faith and hope, as the Diocese of Buffalo embarks on its latest New Evangelization initiative, inviting inactive Catholics and others home to Jesus and His Church.