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Sister Mary Corinne Gurka died Dec. 5, 2014, at Immaculate Conception Convent in Hamburg. She was 72.

Christmas will be a little bit happier for some disadvantaged kids this year. An Amherst volunteer group has collected toys and clothes for several Catholic social service agencies.

Consider the Second Sunday in Advent ... Bishop Richard J. Malone mentions how Pope Francis opened the year of Consecrated Life and thanks religious for their service.

A diocesan deacon became a Catholic Relief Services Global Fellow in October. He will be a representative of, and spokesperson for, the work of the Catholic Church's official international humanitarian aid organization which helps less fortunate people in countries around the world.

As I write, I am at the airport in Rome awaiting my flight home through Philadelphia to snowbound Buffalo. I followed news of the storm on CNN at the Pontifical North American College, our U.S. seminary in Rome, where I stayed during the meeting.

Immaculate Conception School in East Aurora swept the 2014 Moog Regional Rocketry Challenge taking home trophies for the top three places. The competition pitted 12 teams against each other for a spot at the the Team America Rocketry Challenge national launch in Washington.

Father Dennis G. Wolf, a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo, passed away on Friday, November 28. He had been pastor of St. John XXIII Parish since 2008.

As part of the diocese's new evangelization, St. John Kanty Parish in Buffalo will implement a special Advent program designed to get parishioners back into the pews and into the spirit of the season. The program will span three weeks with evening sessions of discussion, videos, prayer and Scripture.

The gift shop at Our Lady of Victory will again offer a wide variety of religious-themed gifts for any family member or friend who prefers a uniquely inspirational keepsake that does not stray far from the traditional meaning of the spirit of the holiday season. The gift shop is located next to the Father Baker Museum in Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna.

The announcement of the Catholics Come Home campaign, which will begin just before Christmas in this diocese, may be an early Christmas gift, if only for the great questions that it raises in us. How often have we heard someone bemoan a parish liturgy? What can we, regular Catholics, do about it? Not much? Maybe more than we think. Because worship is essential to a good parish, and good worship starts with good welcome, this is the first step to building a guest-friendly Church.

Christmas is coming to North Tonawanda in a big way this year. Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish is planning a special Advent celebration beginning Dec. 1. Food, fun and the Holy Family are all on the calendar. Activities include a Christmas play, a tour of the 86-year-old church and a traditional Wigilia dinner.

WNY Catholic Photographer Patrick McPartland ventured out to visit diocesan parishes and schools hit by the storm in an exclusive Facebook photo gallery.

Bishop Richard J. Malone represented Buffalo and the United States at the Vatican in November, as he was asked to be a part of the International Colloquium: The Complementarity of Man and Woman to reaffirm the Catholic Church's position on marriage. Attending the colloquium was an important affirmation of Bishop Malone's work as chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

Join the Buffalo Diocese and hundreds of thousands of Catholics and others in solidarity for a pilgrimage of public witness, penance and prayer for all those victimized by the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and for the conversion of those who misguidedly perpetuate it.

Opera Sacra, the longest continually producing opera company in Western New York, was founded by Father Jacob Ledwon in 1975 at the former St. Joseph's New Cathedral in Buffalo. Choosing works that center on religious themes, its repertoire spans more than 1,000 years of music, including the classics of Grand Opera, medieval liturgical dramas, children's fables and contemporary masterworks. This fall, in celebration of the beginning of its 40th season, Opera Sacra is planning another exceptional program, a fully-staged production of Francis Poulenc's "Dialogues of the Carmelites."

One morning as I was driving to work, I heard a little voice coming through the radio of a young lady giving her testimony of forgiveness. It was so incredible, so much so, that I said, I have to bring her to Buffalo for Da Bounce. The young people need to hear her testimony. It is just too incredible. She will be able to touch so many young people and help them have a relationship with Jesus. I began repeating her name until I got to my office and typed it into my computer. I was able to locate her, Rosario Rodriguez from Los Angeles.

Bishop Richard J. Malone was present at the Vatican on Nov. 17, when Pope Francis announced he will attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia next September. Bishop Malone is in Rome, participating in the International Colloquium: The Complementarity of Man and Woman, through Nov. 19.

Buffalo's singing priest, Father William Quinlivan, has added another title to his resumé - book author. With the help of a self-publishing firm, he has released "Made to Praise Him: Finding My Song."

WASHINGTON—The visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia in September 2015 for the World Meeting of Families will be a "joyful moment," said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Pope Francis made his intention to travel to the United States public, November 17, in an address to the Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman at the Vatican.

Rome, Italy (November 17, 2014) - In remarks offered today in Rome, Pope Francis formally announced his intention to attend the World Meeting of Families - Philadelphia 2015, set to be held September 22-27, 2015. This visit will mark his first to the United States as pope. He will be only the fourth reigning Pontiff to visit our nation in its history.

The sister of a diocesan priest and an incoming college student will travel to West Africa in November to assist the Marian Sisters of Eucharistic Love to serve children at an orphanage in Ghana. Under the careful guidance of Sister Stan Terese Mario Mumuni, MASEL, a native of Africa who has been a missionary for over 16 years, they will help children who would not otherwise have had a chance at life.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis has released an online version of the "United States Catholic Catechism for Adults" (USCCA). The free, online resource is available in English and Spanish.

Do you ever wonder why we should pray? Bishop Richard Malone asks that we consider prayer as desire.

During the 2014 General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the results of a 3 1/2 - year-study on what concerned Catholics were presented. The survey, which showed that Catholics want to know the "whys" of their faith and worry about the church walking a fine line between politics and advocacy, included responses from lay leaders, parish priests, and "engaged parishioners."

WASHINGTON—Drawing on the teachings of Pope Francis, the theme of the 2015 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, February 7-10 in Washington, will be "To Go Forth: Encountering Christ in the Heart of the World." The gathering brings together hundreds of Catholics from across the country who work in ministries at parishes, dioceses and college and university campuses. The theme is meant to echo Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, and observe the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes.

BALTIMORE—Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, New York, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, invited the U.S. bishops to a 2015 Lay Ecclesial Ministry Summit. He made the invitation during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Fall General Assembly, November 11, in Baltimore. The gathering will take place June 7, 2015, to mark the tenth anniversary of the bishops' statement "Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord" (2005), just prior to the USCCB Spring General Assembly in St. Louis.

The ninth annual diocesan catechetical convocation offered presentations on forgiveness, how to deal with loved ones who leave the Church, and parish plans for evangelization. The convocation, which also emphasized the "Catholics Come Home" program, took place at Lucarelli's Banquet Center in Lackawanna on Nov. 4.

The lives of urban youth are often filled with violence and suffering. A group of 50 teens heard of the hardships of Rosario Rodriguez who has suffered two violent attacks on her life.

The principal of St. Gregory the Great School has received two national awards for her work with the Williamsville school.

According to Vatican-speak, a specially scheduled session of the Synod of Bishops is an "Extraordinary Synod," meaning not-an-ordinary Synod, held every three years or so. In the case of the recently-completed Extraordinary Synod of 2014, extraordinary things did happen, in the "Oh, wow!" sense of the word. And if this year's Extraordinary Synod was a preview of the Synod for which it was to set the agenda, the Ordinary Synod of 2015, that Synod, too, promises to be, well, extraordinary.

Each year, students at Christ the King School in Snyder have the opportunity to pray for and recognize those who have faithfully served their country. On Monday, Nov. 10, the eve of Veterans Day, students spoke with military heroes in the community who have done so, in addition to the support the school regularly offers the nation's veterans via organized prayer.

BALTIMORE—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) chose a new secretary-elect of the Conference and the chairmen-elect of five committees and new members of the board of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), during the bishops' annual fall General Assembly, November 11-14, in Baltimore.

For Father David Glassmire, pastor of Ascension Parish in Batavia, Veterans Day is about much more than a day off, as it is for many. Instead, it is a day to recognize the accomplishments of all who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, including himself, as a Navy chaplain assigned to the Marines.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and three archbishops from the United States have been invited to participate in the International Colloquium: The Complementarity of Man and Woman, which will be held at the Vatican, Nov. 17-19. Bishop Malone is chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.

A course, titled "Central City Practicum" and offered at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, will be this month's episode's focus.

In this "Consider this ... with Bishop Richard Malone," the topic is about the Synod of Bishops on family and Pope Francis' prayer and the family.

This year, the Bishop's Committee for Christian Home & Family will celebrate 75 years of helping parents raise Christian children. The program, which has evolved over the past three quarters of a decade, assists parents in the religious and moral training of their pre-school children by offering free educational materials to baptized children.

With the open enrollment period for Western New York seniors to choose their health care coverage for 2015 currently underway, Catholic Health is alerting area residents about important changes implemented by BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York to their Medicare Advantage offerings.

Approximately 300 high school students from throughout Western New York attended a recording of the 2014 Christmas Mass at the Mercy Center Chapel of the Sisters of Mercy in South Buffalo on Saturday. Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, was the celebrant for the Mass that will air nationwide on NBC channels on Christmas Day.

While many of us may be tired of the campaign flyers filling our mailboxes and political ads dominating our favorite television shows, the fact remains that Election Day provides an opportunity to American citizens over the age of 18 to make their voice heard.