Current Events and News
From the Diocese
Bishop’s Directives for Distribution of Palms
January 2021Ample instructions for the Commemoration of the Lord’s Entrance into Jerusalem are found in the Roman Missal for the celebration of Palm Sunday. Three Forms are provided for this observance. Given the circumstances of the COVID pandemic, and in order to...
Vaccine Q&A
From the United States Conference of Catholic BishopsJanuary 2021The development of vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has received much public attention and raised several ethical questions related to their development and use. This document is intended to...
Christmas TV Show
Proclaim! TV is celebrating the glory of Christmas with a television special, “Joy to the World: Christmas in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.”Hosted and produced by Tony DeGol, Diocesan Director of Communications, the two-hour show will highlight...
God Saves
Christmas just won’t be the same this year. How many of us have heard those words lately? As a result of an invisible virus, people will not be getting together with extended family and friends to celebrate Christmas. Who would have thought that shoppers would be more...
Diocese to Broadcast Christmas Masses and Christmas TV Special
As part of its continuing efforts to keep local Catholics connected during the coronavirus pandemic, the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown is pleased to offer expanded television opportunities through its Proclaim! TV Ministry this Christmas.Bishop Mark Bartchak...
Parishes Announce Christmas Mass Schedule
By Justin KirklandProclaim!As Catholics, there is no better way to celebrate and experience God’s presence with us then in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Through the Mass, we are able to deepen our relationship with God, who came to us in the most unlikely way during...
Vaccine Clarification
By Tony DeGolProclaim!Bishop Mark Bartchak is joining other bishops in the United States in clarifying recent confusion regarding the “moral permissibility” of vaccines for COVID-19. According to Bishop Kevin Rhoades and Archbishop Joseph Naumann, vaccines from Pfizer...
What Comes After the Election Season?
A Reflection by Bishop MarkSince Election Day, I have received a few comments and concerns about Catholic Church leaders who have communicated with Joseph Biden. The focus of these concerns are political and religious. The political concern is that communication with...
Bishop Announces Directives for Advent Reconciliation and Christmas Masses
By Tony DeGolProclaim!In most parishes, the first vigil Mass on Christmas Eve usually attracts a ton of people with hardly an empty seat in the church. It is a challenging situation under normal circumstances, but especially worrisome during a pandemic. To help...
Advent Reconciliation Opportunities
By Justin KirklandProclaim!The Church celebrates Advent as a time that we may prepare our souls for the birth of Christ. Traditionally, before every major feast, time was taken by the faithful to prepare their hearts, through prayer, fasting, and penance. Christ came...
Saint of the Day
St. Giles, Abbot: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, September 01, 2021
St. Giles, Abbot (Patron of Physically Disabled) Feast day - September 1 St. Giles is said to have been a seventh century Athenian of noble birth. His piety and learning made him so conspicuous and an object of such admiration in his own country that, dreading praise...
St. Raymond Nonnatus: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Raymond was born at Portella, Catalonia, Spain. He was delivered by caesarean operation when his mother died in childbirth. Hence his name non natus (not born). He joined the Mercedarians under St. Peter Nolasco at Barcelona. He succeeded Peter as chief ransomer and...
St. Rumon: Saint of the Day for Monday, August 30, 2021
St. Rumon, also known as Ruan, Ronan, and Ruadan, was probably a brother of Bishop St. Tudwal of Trequier, but nothing else is known of him beyond that he was probably an Irish missionary and many churches in Devon and Cornwall in England were named after him. Some...
St. Sabina: Saint of the Day for Sunday, August 29, 2021
St. Sabina's feast day is August 29th. We know St. Sabina only through legend, and there is some question as to it's trustworthiness. Even the century in which she lived is unknown. Supposedly Sabina was converted to Christianity by her Syrian servant Serapia. During...
St. Augustine of Hippo: Saint of the Day for Saturday, August 28, 2021
St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a...
St. Monica: Saint of the Day for Friday, August 27, 2021
Saint Monica, also known as Monica of Hippo, is St. Augustine of Hippo's mother. She was born in 331 A.D. in Tagaste, which is present-day Algeria. When she was very young, she was married off to the Roman pagan Patricius, who shared his mother's violent temper....
St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet Ibars: Saint of the Day for Thursday, August 26, 2021
Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Born in Catalonia, Spain, she overcame many difficulties in her youth and eventually became a teacher at Lerida. Desirous to enter the religious life, she failed to win entry into the convent at the advice of her spiritual...
St. Louis King of France: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, August 25, 2021
St. Louis, King of France, patron of Tertiaries, was the ninth of his name. He was born at Poissy, France, in 1214. His father was Louis VIII, and his mother was Blanche, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castille, surnamed the Conqueror. At the age of twelve he lost his...
St. Bartholomew: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, August 24, 2021
St. Bartholomew, 1st. century, one of the 12. All that is known of him with certainty is that he is mentioned in the synoptic gospels and Acts as one of the twelve apostles. His name, a patronymic, means "son of Tolomai" and scholars believe he is the same as...
St. Philip Benizi: Saint of the Day for Monday, August 23, 2021
Servite cardinal and preacher. Born in Florence, Italy, to a noble family, he was educated in Paris and Padua where he earned a doctorate in medicine and philosophy. He practiced medicine for some time, but in 1253 he joined the Servite Order in Florence. He served as...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Wednesday, September 01, 2021
Daily Reading for Wednesday September 1, 2021 Reading 1, Colossians 1:1-8Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 52:10, 11Gospel, Luke 4:38-44 We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Daily Reading for Tuesday August 31, 2021 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 27:1, 4, 13-14Gospel, Luke 4:31-37 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11 1 About times and dates, brothers, there is no need to write to you2 for you...
Daily Readings for Monday, August 30, 2021
Daily Reading for Monday August 30, 2021 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 4:13-18Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 96:1, 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13Gospel, Luke 4:16-30 FREE Catholic Classes Pick a class, you can learn anything Reading 1, First Thessalonians 4:13-18 13 We want you to be...
Daily Readings for Sunday, August 29, 2021
Daily Reading for Sunday August 29, 2021 Reading 1, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5Gospel, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23Reading 2, James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27 Reading 1, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 1 'And now, Israel, listen to the laws and...
Daily Readings for Saturday, August 28, 2021
Daily Reading for Saturday August 28, 2021 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 4:9-12Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 98:1, 7-8, 9Gospel, Matthew 25:14-30 To all our readers, Please don't scroll past this. Today, we humbly ask you to defend Catholic Online's independence. 98% of...
Daily Readings for Friday, August 27, 2021
Daily Reading for Friday August 27, 2021 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 4:1-8Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 97:1, 2, 5-6, 10, 11-12Gospel, Matthew 25:1-13 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 4:1-8 1 Finally, brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus; we...
Daily Readings for Thursday, August 26, 2021
Daily Reading for Thursday August 26, 2021 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 3:7-13Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 90:3-4, 12-13, 14, 17Gospel, Matthew 24:42-51 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 3:7-13 7 And so, brothers, your faith has been a great encouragement to us in the...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Daily Reading for Wednesday August 25, 2021 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 2:9-13Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12Gospel, Matthew 23:27-32 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 2:9-13 9 You remember, brothers, with what unsparing energy we used to work, slaving...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Daily Reading for Tuesday August 24, 2021 Reading 1, Revelation 21:9-14Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18Gospel, John 1:45-51 Reading 1, Revelation 21:9-14 9 One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came to speak...
Daily Readings for Monday, August 23, 2021
Daily Reading for Monday August 23, 2021 Reading 1, First Thessalonians 1:2-5, 8-10Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 9Gospel, Matthew 23:13-22 We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a...