Current Events and News
From the Diocese
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...
Bishop Suspends Precious Blood During Flu Season
Bishop Mark L. Bartchak has directed that the Precious Blood not be distributed in any form at Mass beginning the weekend of January 11 and 12, 2020, and continuing until further notice. The directive is due to the severity of the flu season. It is the belief of the...
Answers to Your Questions about Our Response to the Victims of Sexual Abuse
The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has released a financial summary of the costs related to clergy sexual abuse from July 1, 1999, to December 1, 2018. The summary is included in the December 10, 2018, edition of the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Register. It is...
Independent Oversight Board Report
The Independent Oversight Board for Youth Protection of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has issued its first Annual Report on reforms developed and implemented by the Diocese for the protection of children and youth, concluding that “much has been done, but much is...
Victim Assistance
For almost two decades, the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has been committed to providing pastoral care and financial support to the victims and survivors of sexual abuse. The diocese began a Victim Assistance Program in 1999, and, since that time, assistance in the...
Saint of the Day
Bl. Charles the Good: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, March 02, 2021
In 1086, St. Canute, King of Denmark and father of Blessed Charles the Good, was slain in St. Alban's Church, Odence. Charles who was only a few years old was taken by his mother to the court of Robert, Count of Flanders, his maternal grandfather. When he grew up, he...
St. David: Saint of the Day for Monday, March 01, 2021
According to tradition, St. David was the son of King Sant of South Wales and St. Non. He was ordained a priest and later studied under St. Paulinus. Later, he was involved in missionary work and founded a number of monasteries. The monastery he founded at Menevia in...
St. Hilary, Pope: Saint of the Day for Sunday, February 28, 2021
Pope from 461-468 and guardian of Church unity. He was born in Sardinia, Italy, and was a papal legate to the Robber Council of Ephesus in 449, barely escaping with his life from this affair. Hilary was used by Pope St. Leo I the Great on many assignments. When Leo...
St. Leander of Seville: Saint of the Day for Saturday, February 27, 2021
St. Leander of Seville, Bishop (Feast - February 27th) Leander was born at Cartagena, Spain, of Severianus and Theodora, illustrious for their virtue. St. Isidore and Fulgentius, both bishops were his brothers, and his sister, Florentina, is also numbered among the...
St. Isabel of France: Saint of the Day for Friday, February 26, 2021
Sister of St. Louis and daughter of King Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile, she refused offers of marriage from several noble suitors to continue her life of virginity consecrated to God. She ministered to the sick and the poor, and after the death of her...
St. Tarasius: Saint of the Day for Thursday, February 25, 2021
St. Tarasius was subject of the Byzantine Empire. He was raised to the highest honors in the Empire as Consul, and later became first secretary to the Emperor Constantine and his mother, Irene. When being elected Patriarch of Constantinople, he consented to accept the...
St. John Theristus: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Benedictine monk, called Theristus or Â?Harvester.Â? He was of Calabrian lineage, born in Sicily. His mother was a slave of the Saracens. John escaped at a young age and became a monk. Excellent content provided by https://www.catholic.org/.
St. Polycarp: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Imagine being able to sit at the feet of the apostles and hear their stories of life with Jesus from their own lips. Imagine walking with those who had walked with Jesus, seen him, and touched him. That was what Polycarp was able to do as a disciple of Saint John the...
St. Margaret of Cortona: Saint of the Day for Monday, February 22, 2021
Margaret of Cortona, penitent, was born in Loviana in Tuscany in 1247. Her father was a small farmer. Margaret's mother died when she was seven years old. Her stepmother had little care for her high-spirited daughter. Rejected at home, Margaret eloped with a youth...
St. Severian: Saint of the Day for Sunday, February 21, 2021
Bishop and martyr. The bishop of Scythopolis in Galilee. He attended the Council of Chalcedon (451) and took part in the complete triumph of the orthodox Christian cause against the heretics of the era. On his return home he was assassinated by a group of heretics at...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Tuesday, March 02, 2021
Daily Reading for Tuesday March 2, 2021 Reading 1, Isaiah 1:10, 16-20Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23Gospel, Matthew 23:1-12 Reading 1, Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 10 Hear what Yahweh says, you rulers of Sodom; listen to what our God teaches, you people of...
Daily Readings for Monday, March 01, 2021
Daily Reading for Monday March 1, 2021 Reading 1, Daniel 9:4-10Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 79:8, 9, 11, 13Gospel, Luke 6:36-38 Reading 1, Daniel 9:4-10 4 I pleaded with Yahweh my God and made this confession: 'O my Lord, God great and to be feared, you keep the...
Daily Readings for Sunday, February 28, 2021
Daily Reading for Sunday February 28, 2021 Reading 1, Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19Gospel, Mark 9:2-10Reading 2, Romans 8:31-34 Free PDFs: Hail Mary, Our Father, How to Pray the Rosary & more PDF educational...
Daily Readings for Saturday, February 27, 2021
Daily Reading for Saturday February 27, 2021 Reading 1, Deuteronomy 26:16-19Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8Gospel, Matthew 5:43-48 FREE Catholic Classes Pick a class, you can learn anything Reading 1, Deuteronomy 26:16-19 16 'Yahweh your God commands you...
Daily Readings for Friday, February 26, 2021
Daily Reading for Friday February 26, 2021 Reading 1, Ezekiel 18:21-28Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8Gospel, Matthew 5:20-26 Reading 1, Ezekiel 18:21-28 21 'If the wicked, however, renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is...
Daily Readings for Thursday, February 25, 2021
Daily Reading for Thursday February 25, 2021 Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 138:1-2, 2-3, 7-8Gospel, Matthew 7:7-12 Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 138:1-2, 2-3, 7-8 1 [Of David] I thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart, for you have listened to the cry I uttered. In the...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Daily Reading for Wednesday February 24, 2021 Reading 1, Jonah 3:1-10Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19Gospel, Luke 11:29-32 Reading 1, Jonah 3:1-10 1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to Jonah a second time.2 'Up!' he said, 'Go to Nineveh, the great city,...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Daily Reading for Tuesday February 23, 2021 Reading 1, Isaiah 55:10-11Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19Gospel, Matthew 6:7-15 Reading 1, Isaiah 55:10-11 10 For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered...
Daily Readings for Monday, February 22, 2021
Daily Reading for Monday February 22, 2021 Reading 1, First Peter 5:1-4Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6Gospel, Matthew 16:13-19 Reading 1, First Peter 5:1-4 1 I urge the elders among you, as a fellow-elder myself and a witness to the sufferings of Christ,...
Daily Readings for Sunday, February 21, 2021
Daily Reading for Sunday February 21, 2021 Reading 1, Genesis 9:8-15Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9Gospel, Mark 1:12-15Reading 2, First Peter 3:18-22 Reading 1, Genesis 9:8-15 8 God spoke as follows to Noah and his sons,9 'I am now establishing my covenant...