Current Events and News
From the Diocese
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...
Summer Missionary Cooperative Program
[Description of program] To search for your local summer missionary, simply click on the name of your parish (separated by city) below, and you will be redirected. Alternatively, click here to jump to the full list of summer missionaries. If you wish to make a...
A Special Message from Bishop Mark
Young people in our diocese have frequently heard me tell them that the foundational principle of Catholic social teaching is the following: Every human person is made in the image and likeness of God. Period. It’s in the Sacred Scriptures (Genesis 1:27). No further...
New Directive Regarding Mass Atttendance
Bishop Mark has issued a new directive regarding the celebration of public Masses that lifts an earlier directive that would have limited the number of people permitted at each Mass to 25. When public Masses resume beginning the weekend of June 13-14, 2020, all are...
Saint of the Day
St. John Eudes: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, August 19, 2026
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 Tuesday, August 18, 2026
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 Monday, August 17, 2026
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 Sunday, August 16, 2026
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 Saturday, August 15, 2026
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 Friday, August 14, 2026
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 Thursday, August 13, 2026
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 Wednesday, August 12, 2026
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 Tuesday, August 11, 2026
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 Monday, August 10, 2026
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 Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 34:1-11 1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,2 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, "Shepherds, the Lord Yahweh says this: Disaster is in store for the shepherds of Israel who feed...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 28:1-10 1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,2 'Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Because your heart has grown proud, you thought: I am a god; I am divinely enthroned far out to sea. Though you are...
Daily Readings for Monday, August 17, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 24:15-24 15 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,16 'Son of man, at a blow I am about to deprive you of the delight of your eyes. But you are not to lament, not to weep, not to let your tears run down.17 Groan in silence, do not go into...
Daily Readings for Sunday, August 16, 2026
Daily Reading for Sunday August 16, 2026 Reading 1, Isaiah 56:1, 6-7Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8Gospel, Matthew 15:21-28Reading 2, Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Printable PDF of Today's Reading Past / Future Daily Readings Reading 1, Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 1 Thus...
Daily Readings for Saturday, August 15, 2026
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 Friday, August 14, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 16:59-63 59 "For the Lord Yahweh says this: I shall treat you as you have deserved for making light of an oath and breaking a covenant,60 but I shall remember my covenant with you when you were a girl and shall conclude a covenant with you that will...
Daily Readings for Thursday, August 13, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 12:1-12 1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,2 'Son of man, you are living among a tribe of rebels who have eyes and never see, they have ears and never hear, because they are a tribe of rebels.3 So, son of man, pack an exile's bundle...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Reading 1, Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22 1 Then he shouted loudly for me to hear, 'The scourges of the city are approaching, each carrying his weapon of destruction!'2 Immediately six men advanced from the upper north gate, each holding a deadly weapon. Among them was a man...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Daily Reading for Tuesday August 11, 2026 Reading 1, Ezekiel 2:8-3:4Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131Gospel, Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 Printable PDF of Today's Reading Past / Future Daily Readings Reading 1, Ezekiel 2:8-3:4 8 But you, son of...
Daily Readings for Monday, August 10, 2026
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...