Current Events and News
From the Diocese
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...
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...
Saint of the Day
St. Hugh of Grenoble: Saint of the Day for Thursday, April 01, 2021
Benedictine bishop of Grenoble, France, patron of St. Bruno. He was born in the Dauphine region and became a canon of the cathedral in Valence. In 1080, while attending a synod in Avignon, Hugh was named bishop of Grenoble. He attempted a massive reform of the...
St. Benjamin: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, March 31, 2021
St. Benjamin, Martyr (Feast Day - March 31) The Christians in Persia had enjoyed twelve years of peace during the reign of Isdegerd, son of Sapor III, when in 420 it was disturbed by the indiscreet zeal of Abdas, a Christian Bishop who burned the Temple of Fire, the...
St. Peter Regulatus: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Also Peter Regalado, Franciscan reformer. Peter was born at Valladolid, Spain, to a noble family, and entered the Franciscan Order in his native city at the age of thirteen. After several years, he transferred to a far more austere monastery at Tribulos, where he...
St. Berthold: Saint of the Day for Monday, March 29, 2021
Considered by some historians to be the founder of the Carmelite Order. He was born in Limoges, France, and proved a brilliant student at the University of Paris. Ordained a priest, Berthold joined his brother, Aymeric, the Latin patriarch of Antioch, in Turkey, on...
St. Venturino of Bergamo: Saint of the Day for Sunday, March 28, 2021
Dominican preacher and missionary crusader. A native of Bergamo, Italy, he joined the Dominicans in 1319 and soon distinguished himself as a brilliant preacher, attracting huge crowds throughout northern Italy. Pleased with his ability to reach large numbers of...
St. Rupert: Saint of the Day for Saturday, March 27, 2021
Bishop and missionary, also listed as Robert of Hrodbert. A member of a noble Frankish family, he was appointed bishop of Worms, Germany, and then dedicated himself to spreading the faith among the Germans. With the patronage of Duke Thedo of Bavaria, he took over the...
St. Margaret Clitherow: Saint of the Day for Friday, March 26, 2021
St. Margaret Clitherow was born in Middleton, England, in 1555, of protestant parents. Possessed of good looks and full of wit and merriment, she was a charming personality. In 1571, she married John Clitherow, a well-to-do grazier and butcher (to whom she bore two...
St. Dismas: Saint of the Day for Thursday, March 25, 2021
All that is known of Dismas is that he is the Good Thief crucified with Christ on Calvary. The other thief is known as Gestas. A completely unsubstantiated myth from the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy that enjoyed great popularity in the West during the Middle Ages had...
St. Aldemar: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Abbot and miracle worker, called "the Wise." Born in Capua, Italy, he became a monk in Monte Cassino and was called to the attention of a Princess Aloara of the region. When she built a new convent in Capua, Alder became the director of the religious in the...
St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Bishop and defender of the rights of the native Indians in Peru, Born in Mayorga, Spain, he studied law and became a lawyer and then professor at Salamanca, receiving appointment-despite being a layman-as chief judge of the court of Inquisition at Granada under King...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Thursday, April 01, 2021
Daily Reading for Thursday April 1, 2021 Reading 1, Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18Gospel, John 13:1-15Reading 2, First Corinthians 11:23-26 FREE Catholic Classes Pick a class, you can learn anything Reading 1, Exodus 12:1-8,...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Daily Reading for Wednesday March 31, 2021 Reading 1, Isaiah 50:4-9Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 69:8-10, 21-22, 31, 33-34Gospel, Matthew 26:14-25 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 Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Daily Reading for Tuesday March 30, 2021 Reading 1, Isaiah 49:1-6Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17Gospel, John 13:21-33, 36-38 Free PDFs: Hail Mary, Our Father, How to Pray the Rosary & more PDF educational & learning resources for Students,...
Daily Readings for Monday, March 29, 2021
Daily Reading for Monday March 29, 2021 Reading 1, Isaiah 42:1-7Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14Gospel, John 12:1-11 Free PDFs: Hail Mary, Our Father, How to Pray the Rosary & more PDF educational & learning resources for Students, Parents, and...
Daily Readings for Sunday, March 28, 2021
Daily Reading for Sunday March 28, 2021 Reading 1, Isaiah 50:4-7Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24Gospel, Mark 14:1-15:47Reading 2, Philippians 2:6-11 Free PDFs: Hail Mary, Our Father, How to Pray the Rosary & more PDF educational &...
Daily Readings for Saturday, March 27, 2021
Daily Reading for Saturday March 27, 2021 Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:21-28Responsorial Psalm, Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12, 13Gospel, John 11:45-57 Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:21-28 21 say, "The Lord Yahweh says this: I shall take the Israelites from the nations where they have gone. I...
Daily Readings for Friday, March 26, 2021
Daily Reading for Friday March 26, 2021 Reading 1, Jeremiah 20:10-13Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7Gospel, John 10:31-42 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...
Daily Readings for Thursday, March 25, 2021
Daily Reading for Thursday March 25, 2021 Reading 1, Isaiah 7:10-14Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 40:7-8, 8-9, 10, 11Gospel, Luke 1:26-38Reading 2, Hebrews 10:4-10 Reading 1, Isaiah 7:10-14 10 Yahweh spoke to Ahaz again and said:11 Ask Yahweh your God for a sign, either...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Daily Reading for Wednesday March 24, 2021 Reading 1, Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95Responsorial Psalm, Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56Gospel, John 8:31-42 To all our readers, Please don't scroll past this. Today, we humbly ask you to defend Catholic Online's independence. 98%...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Daily Reading for Tuesday March 23, 2021 Reading 1, Numbers 21:4-9Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21Gospel, John 8:21-30 To all our readers, Please don't scroll past this. Today, we humbly ask you to defend Catholic Online's independence. 98% of our...