Current Events and News
From the Diocese
Memo from: Bishop Mark
Memo from: Bishop Mark To: All Clergy Date: March 25, 2020 Re: Celebration of the Liturgies of Holy Week and Especially the Sacred Triduum In this time of need, directives have been issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as...
Bishop Suspends All Public Masses
Bishop Mark L. Bartchak announced the suspension of the celebration of all public Masses and all other liturgical celebrations in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown effective March 17, 2020, and continuing until further notice. Throughout this time, the dispensed...
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...
Saint of the Day
St. Ignatius Loyola: Saint of the Day for Friday, July 31, 2026
Born Inigo Lopez de Loyola in 1491, the man known as Ignatius of Loyola entered the world in Loiola, Spain. At the time, the name of the village was spelled "Loyola," hence the discrepancy. Inigo came of age in Azpeitia, in northern Spain. Loyola is a small village at...
St. Peter Chrysologus: Saint of the Day for Thursday, July 30, 2026
St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Feast-July 30) Born at Imola, Italy in 380, St. Peter was baptized, educated, and ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola. St. Peter merited being called "Chrysologus" (golden-worded) from his exceptional...
St. Martha: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, July 29, 2026
"Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus." This unique statement in John's gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother. Apparently Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha's home in Bethany, a small village two miles from...
St. Innocent I: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Innocent was born at Albano, Italy. He became Pope, succeeding Pope St. Anastasius I, on December 22, 401. During Innocent's pontificate, he emphasized papal supremacy, commending the bishops of Africa for referring the decrees of their councils at Carthage and...
St. Pantaleon: Saint of the Day for Monday, July 27, 2026
St Pantaleon came from Nicomedia, near the Black Sea, in Asia. He was such a famous doctor that the Emperor himself chose him for his own doctor. Pantaleon was a Christian, but the bad influence from the pagan court caused him to give up his Christian faith entirely....
Sts. Joachim and Anne: Saint of the Day for Sunday, July 26, 2026
Saints Joachim (sometimes spelled "Joaquin," pronounced "wal-keem") and Anne, are the parents of the Virgin Mary. There are no mentions of them in the Bible or Gospels, what we know comes from Catholic legend and the Gospel of James, which is an unsanctioned,...
St. James the Greater: Saint of the Day for Saturday, July 25, 2026
Nothing is known of St. James the Greater's early life, though it has been established that he is the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of John the disciple. The title "the Greater" was added to St. James' name to help distinguish him from the Apostle James "the...
St. John Boste: Saint of the Day for Friday, July 24, 2026
One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. He was born at Dufton, at Westmoreland, England, and studied at Oxford. Becoming a Catholic in 1576, he went to Reims and received ordination in 1581. John went back to England where he worked in the northern parts of the...
St. Bridget of Sweden: Saint of the Day for Thursday, July 23, 2026
Saint Birgitta was the daughter of Uppland�s Lagman, Birger Petersson and his wife, Ingeborg, who was a member of the same clan as the reigning family. Birgitta�s family was pious; her father went to confession every Friday and made long and arduous...
St. Mary Magdalene: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, July 22, 2026
St. Mary Magdalene is one of the greatest saints of the Bible and a legendary example of God's mercy and grace. The precise dates of her birth and death are unknown, but we do know she was present with Christ during his public ministry, death and resurrection. She is...
Daily Reading
Daily Readings for Friday, July 31, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 26:1-9 1 At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh,2 'Yahweh says this, "Stand in the court of the Temple of Yahweh. To all the people from the towns of Judah who come to worship...
Daily Readings for Thursday, July 30, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 18:1-6 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh as follows,2 'Get up and make your way down to the potter's house, and there I shall tell you what I have to say.'3 So I went down to the potter's house; and there he was, working at the wheel.4...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21 10 A disaster for me, mother, that you bore me to be a man of strife and dissension for the whole country. I neither lend nor borrow, yet all of them curse me.16 When your words came, I devoured them: your word was my delight and the...
Daily Readings for Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 14:17-22 17 'So say this word to them: May my eyes shed tears night and day, unceasingly, since the daughter of my people has sustained a fearsome wound, a crippling injury.18 If I go into the countryside, there lie those killed by the sword; if I...
Daily Readings for Monday, July 27, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 13:1-11 1 Yahweh said this to me, 'Go and buy a linen waistcloth and put it round your waist. But do not dip it in water.'2 And so, as Yahweh had ordered, I bought a waistcloth and put it round my waist.3 A second time the word of Yahweh came to...
Daily Readings for Sunday, July 26, 2026
Daily Reading for Sunday July 26, 2026 Reading 1, First Kings 3:5, 7-12Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130Gospel, Matthew 13:44-52Reading 2, Romans 8:28-30 Printable PDF of Today's Reading Past / Future Daily Readings Reading 1, First Kings...
Daily Readings for Saturday, July 25, 2026
Reading 1, Second Corinthians 4:7-15 7 But we hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God's and not our own.8 We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair;9 we are...
Daily Readings for Friday, July 24, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 3:14-17 14 "Come back, disloyal children, Yahweh declares, for I alone am your Master, and I will take you, one from a town, two from a family, and bring you to Zion.15 I shall give you shepherds after my own heart, who will pasture you wisely and...
Daily Readings for Thursday, July 23, 2026
Reading 1, Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,2 'Go and shout this in Jerusalem's ears: 'Yahweh says this: "I remember your faithful love, the affection of your bridal days, when you followed me through the desert, through a land...
Daily Readings for Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Reading 1, Second Corinthians 5:14-17 14 For the love of Christ overwhelms us when we consider that if one man died for all, then all have died;15 his purpose in dying for all humanity was that those who live should live not any more for themselves, but for him who...