Current Events and News
From the Diocese
What Did Pope Francis Say?
A Message from Bishop MarkOctober 23, 2020What did Pope Francis say? I have been asked that question this week since it has been reported that Pope Francis may have just changed the Church’s teaching about marriage. That conclusion was based on something the Holy...
Update on Diocesan Directives for Health and Safety During the Coronavirus Pandemic
A Message from Bishop Mark – August 6, 2020By now you have heard about a person who tested positive for the Coronavirus and attended Mass last weekend at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Johnstown. Public notice was made with due regard for the teaching and discipline...
Individual Who Was Present at Local Mass Tests Positive for COVID-19
An individual who attended Mass at a parish in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has tested positive for COVID-19.The person attended the 4:00 p.m. Mass at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in Johnstown on Saturday, August 1. Weekend Masses at Saint Francis of Assisi have...
A Message from Bishop Mark
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Someone recently told me that she could hear the sigh of relief recently as restrictions were lifted that allowed for our churches to reopen. Numerous people have remarked how grateful they are to attend Sunday Mass and receive the...
Welcome Back to Sunday Mass!
As Sunday and Weekday Masses are now being celebrated, there has been a steady increase in the number of people who are attending. So far, there has been a positive response to the precautions of placing donations in the basket at the end of Mass, using face masks and...
Summer Missionary Cooperative Program
[Description of program] To search for your local summer missionary, simply click on the name of your parish (separated by city) below, and you will be redirected. Alternatively, click here to jump to the full list of summer missionaries. If you wish to make a...
A Special Message from Bishop Mark
Young people in our diocese have frequently heard me tell them that the foundational principle of Catholic social teaching is the following: Every human person is made in the image and likeness of God. Period. It’s in the Sacred Scriptures (Genesis 1:27). No further...
New Directive Regarding Mass Atttendance
Bishop Mark has issued a new directive regarding the celebration of public Masses that lifts an earlier directive that would have limited the number of people permitted at each Mass to 25. When public Masses resume beginning the weekend of June 13-14, 2020, all are...
Parishes Announce Reconciliation Opportunities
Bishop Mark Bartchak has announced that the public celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation may resume at parishes beginning on May 23, 2020. Click HERE for a county-by-county schedule of upcoming Reconciliation opportunities at various parishes in the Diocese...
Dates for Public Confessions, Masses Announced
Bishop Mark has announced dates to resume the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the distribution of Holy Communion and the public celebration of Mass in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. According to the Bishop’s directives, issued on May 20, 2020, priests may resume the...
Saint of the Day
St. Anthelm: Saint of the Day for Friday, June 26, 2026
Carthusian monk and bishop, defender of papal authority. Anthelm was born in 1107 in a castle near Chambery, in Savoy, France. He was ordained a priest and visited the Carthusian Charterhouse at Portes, where he entered the Order at the age of thirty. Two years later,...
St. William of Vercelli: Saint of the Day for Thursday, June 25, 2026
William of Vercelli, Saint 1085-1142. founder, born in Vercelli Italy he was brought up as an orphan became a hermit on Monte Vergine, Italy after a pilgrimage to Compostella and attracted so many followers that a monastery was buillt. By 1119 his followers were...
St. John the Baptist: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Discover More About St. John the Baptist with Journey with the Saints John the Baptist was a contemporary of Christ who was known for evangelization and his baptizing of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was born through the intercession of God to Zachariah and...
St. Joseph Cafasso: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Joseph Cafasso was born at Castelnuovo d'Asti in the Piedmont, Italy, of peasant parents. He studied at the seminary at Turin, and was ordained in 1833. He continued his theological studies at the seminary and university at Turin and then at the Institute of St....
St. Thomas More: Saint of the Day for Monday, June 22, 2026
Thomas More was born in London on February 7, 1478. His father, Sir John More, was a lawyer and judge who rose to prominence during the reign of Edward IV. His connections and wealth would help his son, Thomas, rise in station as a young man. Thomas' mother was Agnes...
St. Aloysius Gonzaga: Saint of the Day for Sunday, June 21, 2026
St. Aloysius was born in Castiglione, Italy. The first words St. Aloysius spoke were the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. He was destined for the military by his father (who was in service to Philip II), but by the age of 9 Aloysius had decided on a religious life, and...
St. Vincent Kaun: Saint of the Day for Saturday, June 20, 2026
Martyr of Japan. A native of Korea, he was brought to Japan in 1591 as a prisoner of war and was subsequently converted to Christianity. Entering the Jesuits, he studied at the Jesuit seminary of Arima and worked for three decades as a catechist in both Japan and...
St. Romuald: Saint of the Day for Friday, June 19, 2026
St. Romuald was born at Ravenna about the year 956. In spite of an infinite desire for virtue and sanctity, his early life was wasted in the service of the world and its pleasures. Then one day, obliged by his father, Sergius, to be present at a duel fought by him, he...
St. Gregory Barbarigo: Saint of the Day for Thursday, June 18, 2026
St. Gregory Barbarigo was born in 1625, of a very old and distinguished Venetian family. A brilliant student, he embraced a diplomatic career and accompanied the Venetian Ambassador, Contarini, to the Congress of Munster in 1648. Then he became a priest and was soon...
St. Emily de Vialar: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, June 17, 2026
St. Emily de Vialar, Virgin, Foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph "of the Apparition" Anne Marguerite Adelaide Emily de Vialar was the eldest child and only daughter of Baron James Augustine de Vialar and his wife Antoinette, daughter of that Baron de Portal who was...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Saturday, June 27, 2026
Reading 1, Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19 2 The Lord pitilessly engulfed all the homes of Jacob; in his fury he tore down the fortresses of the daughter of Judah; he threw to the ground, he desecrated the kingdom and its princes.10 Mute, they sit on the ground, the...
Daily Readings for Friday, June 26, 2026
Reading 1, Second Kings 25:1-12 1 In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem with his entire army; he pitched camp in front of the city and threw up earthworks round it.2 The...
Daily Readings for Thursday, June 25, 2026
Reading 1, Second Kings 24:8-17 8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.9 He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, just as his father...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Reading 1, Isaiah 49:1-6 1 Coasts and islands, listen to me, pay attention, distant peoples. Yahweh called me when I was in the womb, before my birth he had pronounced my name.2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Reading 1, Second Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-35, 36 9 on hearing that Tirhakah king of Cush was on his way to attack him.10 Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 'Tell Hezekiah king of Judah this, "Do not let your God on whom you are relying deceive you...
Daily Readings for Monday, June 22, 2026
Reading 1, Second Kings 17:5-8, 13-15, 18 5 The king of Assyria invaded the whole country and, coming to Samaria, laid siege to it for three years.6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled...
Daily Readings for Sunday, June 21, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 20:10-13 10 I heard so many disparaging me, 'Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!' All those who were on good terms with me watched for my downfall, 'Perhaps he will be seduced into error. Then we shall get the better of him and...
Daily Readings for Saturday, June 20, 2026
Reading 1, Second Chronicles 24:17-25 17 After Jehoiada's death the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king listened to their advice,18 and they abandoned the Temple of Yahweh, God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols....
Daily Readings for Friday, June 19, 2026
Reading 1, Second Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 1 When Athaliah mother of Ahaziah learned that her son was dead, she promptly murdered all those of royal stock.2 But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, surreptitiously rescued Jehoash son of Ahaziah...
Daily Readings for Thursday, June 18, 2026
Reading 1, Sirach 48:1-14 1 Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, his word flaring like a torch.2 It was he who brought famine on them and decimated them in his zeal.3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, three times also he brought down fire.4 How...