Current Events and News
From the Diocese
2021 Plans for RCIA, Confirmation, First Holy Communion
By Tony DeGolProclaim!There is an old saying in entertainment that no matter what happens, the show must go on. Here in the Catholic Church, the sacramental life of our faith communities must go on as well, even in the midst of a pandemic. As the Diocese of...
Bishop’s Directives for Parish Lenten Fish Dinners
January 2021Ash Wednesday, February 17, marks the beginning of the holy season of Lent. It is also the starting date for annual Fish Dinners in parishes throughout the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. In many of those places it is a regular fundraiser to support parish...
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...
Saint of the Day
St. Sabina: Saint of the Day for Saturday, August 29, 2026
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 Friday, August 28, 2026
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 has been an inspiration to many who struggle with habits or vices they...
St. Monica: Saint of the Day for Thursday, August 27, 2026
Discover More About St. Monica with Journey with the Saints 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...
St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet Ibars: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, August 26, 2026
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 Tuesday, August 25, 2026
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 Monday, August 24, 2026
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 Sunday, August 23, 2026
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...
St. Andrew the Scot: Saint of the Day for Saturday, August 22, 2026
Archdeacon and companion of St. Donatus. Andrew and his sister, St. Bridget the Younger, were born in Ireland of noble parents.They were educated by St. Donatus, and when Donatus went on a pilgrimage to Italy, Andrew accompanied him. In Fiesole, through a miracle,...
St. Pius X: Saint of the Day for Friday, August 21, 2026
On June 2, 1835, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto saw the light of earth at Riesi, Province of Treviso, in Venice; on August 20, 1914, he saw the light of heaven; and on May 29, 1954, he who had become the two hundred fifty-ninth pope was canonized St. Pius X. Two of the...
St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Saint of the Day for Thursday, August 20, 2026
St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church St. Bernard was born of noble parentage in Burgundy, France, in the castle of Fontaines near Dijon. Under the care of his pious parents he was sent at an early age to a college at Chatillon, where he was conspicuous for his...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Saturday, August 29, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 1:17-19 17 'As for you, prepare yourself for action. Stand up and tell them all I command you. Have no fear of them and in their presence I will make you fearless.18 For look, today I have made you into a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of...
Daily Readings for Friday, August 28, 2026
Reading 1, First Corinthians 1:17-25 17 After all, Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel; and not by means of wisdom of language, wise words which would make the cross of Christ pointless.18 The message of the cross is folly for those who are on the...
Daily Readings for Thursday, August 27, 2026
Reading 1, First Corinthians 1:1-9 1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and Sosthenes, our brother,2 to the church of God in Corinth, to those who have been consecrated in Christ Jesus and called to be God's holy people, with all those...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Reading 1, Second Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we urge you, brothers, to keep away from any of the brothers who lives an undisciplined life, not in accordance with the tradition you received from us.7 You know how you should take...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Reading 1, Second Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-16 1 About the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers, and our being gathered to him:2 please do not be too easily thrown into confusion or alarmed by any manifestation of the Spirit or any statement or any letter claiming...
Daily Readings for Monday, August 24, 2026
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 to me and said, 'Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.'10 In the spirit, he carried me to the top of a very high...
Daily Readings for Sunday, August 23, 2026
Reading 1, Isaiah 22:15, 19-23 15 The Lord Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Go and find that steward, Shebna, the master of the palace:19 I shall hound you from your office, I shall snatch you from your post20 and, when that day comes, I shall summon my servant Eliakim son...
Daily Readings for Saturday, August 22, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 43:1-7 1 He took me to the gate, the one facing east.2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel approaching from the east. A sound came with him like the sound of the ocean, and the earth shone with his glory.3 This vision was like the one I had seen...
Daily Readings for Friday, August 21, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:1-14 1 The hand of Yahweh was on me; he carried me away by the spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley, a valley full of bones.2 He made me walk up and down and all around among them. There were vast quantities of these bones...
Daily Readings for Thursday, August 20, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 36:23-28 23 I am going to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am Yahweh -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- when in you I display my...