Current Events and News
From the Diocese
Liturgical Directives
The following directives were communicated to the clergy of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown on March 17, 2020. The directives remain in effect until further notice. If questions arise concerning the impact of these directives, please contact your pastor for further...
Holy Week Directives
With public Masses and other liturgical gatherings suspended at least through Holy Week and Easter, Bishop Mark is inviting the faithful to watch the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown weekly television Mass on Passion (Palm) Sunday and Easter Sunday at 11:00 a.m. on WATM...
Television/Streaming Masses
During this time of no public Masses, the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown is committed to continuing the weekly Proclaim! Television Ministry and Mass. Proclaim!Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WATM ABC 23 Mass with Bishop MarkSundays at 11:00 a.m. on WATM ABC23Sundays at...
Spirituality
PRAYER RECITED BY POPE FRANCISFOR THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLDO Mary,you always shine on our pathas a sign of salvation and of hope.We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm.You, Salvation of the...
Support Your Parish
Although public Masses are suspended until further notice, our Church is alive and still fulfilling its mission. Your parish will continue to bring you the light of Christ, but it needs your support. To assist parishes that do not currently offer...
Wine and Food Pairing
Much sweeter than the chocolate cake truffles and Moscato d’Asti at the recent Catholic Charities Wine and Food Pairing was a true story highlighting how the delightful evening helps our neighbors in need. At the conclusion of gathering at the Blairmont Club in...
Communal Penance Services
The season of Lent is a time to seek God’s healing and forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Many parishes are sponsoring Communal Penance Services in the coming weeks. The following parishes submitted schedules to the Office of Communications. Please...
Stations of the Cross
Most parishes invite the faithful to pray the Stations of the Cross during Lent. All parishes were invited to submit their schedule to the Office of Communications. The following is the schedule from the parishes that responded. BEDFORD COUNTY Saint John the...
Lenten Spiritual Opportunities
Various parishes in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown are sponsoring spiritual enrichment opportunities during the Lenten season. Novena to Saint Anthony of PaduaSaint Francis of Assisi Parish in JohnstownTuesdays in LentNovena prayed after 6:30 p.m. Mass Holy...
Memory Walk in Honor of Sister Margie
By Tony DeGolProclaim! Carol Babinsack sums it up well when she says that the late Sister Margie Monahan was a cherished friend to many people. “She was always there,” pointed out Babinsack, a member of Saint Stephen Parish in McConnellsburg. “She was willing to help....
Saint of the Day
St. Colman of Dromore: Saint of the Day for Sunday, June 07, 2026
The first bishop of Dromore in County Down, was this St. Colman, who founded a monastery there, probably about the year 514. He was venerated from early times in Scotland as well as in Ireland, and under the date of June 7 we find him mentioned in several of the...
St. Norbert: Saint of the Day for Saturday, June 06, 2026
St. Norbert was born at Xanten in the Rhineland, about the year 1080. The early part of his life was devoted to the world and its pleasures. He entered upon the ecclesiastical state in a worldly spirit. The thunderstorm had boiled up suddenly as Norbert was out...
St. Boniface of Mainz: Saint of the Day for Friday, June 05, 2026
Born around 675 in Wessex, England, Saint Boniface, originally named Winfrith, became one of the greatest missionaries in Church history and is remembered as the "Apostle of Germany." Raised in a Christian family, he felt drawn to religious life from a young age after...
St. Francis Caracciolo: Saint of the Day for Thursday, June 04, 2026
Founder of the Minor Clerks Regular with St. John Augustine Adorno. He was born in 1563, a member of a noble Neapolitan family. Though he had a rare skin disease, much like leprosy, Francis became a priest, at which time his skin disease disappeared. In 1588, he...
St. Charles Lwanga and Companions: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, June 03, 2026
For those of us who think that the faith and zeal of the early Christians died out as the Church grew more safe and powerful through the centuries, the martyrs of Uganda are a reminder that persecution of Christians continues in modern times, even to the present day....
Sts. Marcellinus and Peter: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, June 02, 2026
Though we know very little about these two martyrs under Diocletian, there is no question that the early church venerated them. Evidence of the respect in which they were held are the basilica Constantine built over their tombs and the presence of their names in the...
St. Justin Martyr: Saint of the Day for Monday, June 01, 2026
Christian apologist, born at Flavia Neapolis, about A.D. 100, converted to Christianity about A.D. 130, taught and defended the Christian religion in Asia Minor and at Rome, where he suffered martyrdom about the year 165. Two "Apologies" bearing his name and his...
St. Joan of Arc: Saint of the Day for Saturday, May 30, 2026
St. Joan of Arc is the patroness of soldiers and of France. On January 6, 1412, Joan of Arc was born to pious parents of the French peasant class in the obscure village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. At a very early age, she was said to have heard the...
St. Maximinus of Trier: Saint of the Day for Friday, May 29, 2026
Bishop of Trier, Germany, from 332, and a miracle worker. He was probably born at Silly, France, and succeeded St. Agritus as bishop of Trier, giving refuge to St. Athanasius in 336. St. Paul, the patriarch of Constantinople, was also given Maximinus� protection....
Bl. Margaret Pole: Saint of the Day for Thursday, May 28, 2026
Martyr of England. She was born Margaret Plantagenet, the niece of Edward IV and RichĂ?Âard III. She married Sir Reginald Pole about 1491 and bore five sons, including Reginald Cardinal Pole. Margaret was widowed, named countess of Salisbury, and appointed governess...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Sunday, June 07, 2026
Reading 1, Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16 2 Remember the long road by which Yahweh your God led you for forty years in the desert, to humble you, to test you and know your inmost heart -- whether you would keep his commandments or not.3 He humbled you, he made you feel...
Daily Readings for Saturday, June 06, 2026
Reading 1, Second Timothy 4:1-8 1 Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I charge you, in the name of his appearing and of his kingdom:2 proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct...
Daily Readings for Friday, June 05, 2026
Reading 1, Second Timothy 3:10-17 10 You, though, have followed my teaching, my way of life, my aims, my faith, my patience and my love, my perseverance11 and the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in places like Antioch, Iconium and Lystra -- all the...
Daily Readings for Thursday, June 04, 2026
Reading 1, Second Timothy 2:8-15 8 Remember the gospel that I carry, 'Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David';9 it is on account of this that I have to put up with suffering, even to being chained like a criminal. But God's message cannot be...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, June 03, 2026
Reading 1, Second Timothy 1:1-3, 6-12 1 From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God in accordance with his promise of life in Christ Jesus,2 to Timothy, dear son of mine. Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.3 Night...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, June 02, 2026
Reading 1, Second Peter 3:12-15, 17-18 12 while you wait for the Day of God to come, and try to hasten its coming: on that Day the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat.13 What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and...
Daily Readings for Monday, June 01, 2026
Reading 1, Second Peter 1:2-7 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of our Lord.3 By his divine power, he has lavished on us all the things we need for life and for true devotion, through the knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory...
Daily Readings for Sunday, May 31, 2026
Reading 1, Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9 4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first and, with the two tablets of stone in his hands, Moses went up Mount Sinai in the early morning as Yahweh had ordered.5 And Yahweh descended in a cloud and stood with him there and...
Daily Readings for Saturday, May 30, 2026
Reading 1, Jude 1:17, 20-25 17 But remember, my dear friends, what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.20 But you, my dear friends, must build yourselves up on the foundation of your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit;21 keep yourselves within the...
Daily Readings for Friday, May 29, 2026
Reading 1, First Peter 4:7-13 7 The end of all things is near, so keep your minds calm and sober for prayer.8 Above all preserve an intense love for each other, since love covers over many a sin.9 Welcome each other into your houses without grumbling.10 Each one of...