Current Events and News
From the Diocese
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....
March For Life 2020
Groups from throughout the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown traveled to Washington, D.C., on January 24 for the March for Life. Bishop Mark traveled by bus with a group from the Altoona area organized by the Blair County chapter of Citizens Concerned for Human Life. In...
Saint of the Day
St. John Eudes: Saint of the Day for Saturday, August 19, 2023
John Eudes was born at Ri, Normandy, France, on November 14, 1601, the son of a farmer. He went to the Jesuit college at Caen when he was 14, and despite his parents' wish that he marry, joined the Congregation of the Oratory of France in 1623. He studied at Paris and...
St. Helena: Saint of the Day for Friday, August 18, 2023
St. Helena was the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great and an Empress of the Roman Empire. Very little is known about Helena's early life, but it is believed she is from Drepanum (later known as Helenopolis) in Asia Minor and born into a poor family and lower...
St. Clare of Montefalco: Saint of the Day for Thursday, August 17, 2023
Clare was born at Montefalco, Italy, around 1268. As a young woman she joined a convent of Franciscan tertiaries. This group established Holy Cross Convent at Montefalco in 1290, adopting the Rule of St. Augustine. Clare's sister Joan was the abbess of this community,...
St. Stephen the Great: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, August 16, 2023
St. Stephen the Great (977-1038), was the son of the Magyar chieftain Geza, Stephen succeeded him as leader in 997. Already raised a Christian, in 996 he wed the daughter of Duke Henry II of Bavaria and devoted much of his reign to the promotion of the Christian...
St. Alipius: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Bishop and companion of St. Augustine. He was born in Tagaste, North Africa, and was raised as a friend of St. Augustine. He went to Rome to study law and became a magistrate there. When Augustine arrived in Rome, Alipius resigned his post and accompanied him to...
St. Maximilian Kolbe: Saint of the Day for Monday, August 14, 2023
St. Maximilian Kolbe was born as Raymund Kolbe on January 8, 1894, in the Kingdom of Poland, part of the Russian Empire. He was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar and a martyr in the German death Camp of Auschwitz during World War II. St. Maximilian Kolbe was very...
St. Hippolytus: Saint of the Day for Sunday, August 13, 2023
Martyr of Rome, with Concordia and other companions, he is a controversial figure who censured Pope St. Callistus I. Hippolytus was slain in Sardinia where he had been exiled for being elected as an antipope, the first in the history of the Church. He was reconciled...
St. Michael My: Saint of the Day for Saturday, August 12, 2023
Martyr of Vietnam. He was the mayor of a town in Vietnam when the persecution of Christians started. Michael was martyred with Blessed Anthony Dich, his son-in-law, and with St. James Nam. He was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. Excellent content provided by...
St. Clare of Assisi: Saint of the Day for Friday, August 11, 2023
St. Clare of Assisi was born in Assisi on July 16, 1194, as Chiara Offreduccio, the beautiful eldest daughter of Favorino Sciffi, Count of Sasso-Rosso and his wife Ortolana. Tradition says her father was a wealthy representative of an ancient Roman family and her...
St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr: Saint of the Day for Thursday, August 10, 2023
The year was 258 A.D. It was a difficult beginning for what would become the First Christian Millennium. Hostility against the early followers of Jesus Christ was growing. The barbarism and severity of pagan Rome had begun to reach a fever pitch. It would soon lead to...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Saturday, August 19, 2023
Reading 1, Joshua 24:14-29 14 'So now, fear Yahweh and serve him truly and sincerely; banish the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.15 But if serving Yahweh seems a bad thing to you, today you must make up your minds whom...
Daily Readings for Friday, August 18, 2023
Reading 1, Joshua 24:1-13 1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; he then summoned all the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges and officials, and they presented themselves in God's presence.2 Joshua then said to all the people: 'Yahweh, the...
Daily Readings for Thursday, August 17, 2023
Reading 1, Joshua 3:7-10, 11, 13-17 7 Yahweh said to Joshua, 'This very day, I shall begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that, as I was with Moses, so I shall be with you.8 Now, give this order to the priests carrying the ark of...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Reading 1, Deuteronomy 34:1-12 1 Then, leaving the Plains of Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah opposite Jericho, and Yahweh showed him the whole country: Gilead as far as Dan,2 the whole of Naphtali, the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, the whole...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, August 15, 2023
Reading 1, Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10 19 Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail.1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a...
Daily Readings for Monday, August 14, 2023
Reading 1, Isaiah 58:6-11 6 Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me: to break unjust fetters, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break all yokes?7 Is it not sharing your food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if...
Daily Readings for Sunday, August 13, 2023
Reading 1, First Kings 19:9, 11-13 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night there. Then the word of Yahweh came to him saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'11 Then he was told, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.' For at that moment Yahweh was...
Daily Readings for Saturday, August 12, 2023
Reading 1, Deuteronomy 6:4-13 4 'Listen, Israel: Yahweh our God is the one, the only Yahweh.5 You must love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.6 Let the words I enjoin on you today stay in your heart.7 You shall tell them...
Daily Readings for Friday, August 11, 2023
Reading 1, Deuteronomy 4:32-40 32 'Put this question, then, to the ages that are past, that have gone before you, from when God created the human race on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything like it ever heard?33...
Daily Readings for Thursday, August 10, 2023
Reading 1, Second Corinthians 9:6-10 6 But remember: anyone who sows sparsely will reap sparsely as well -- and anyone who sows generously will reap generously as well.7 Each one should give as much as he has decided on his own initiative, not reluctantly or under...