Open for a few years now, the Father Baker Museum located in the basement of Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna has added several new exhibits and artifacts, the highlight of which is a silk chasuble, an outer liturgical vestment, which was worn by the Venerable Nelson Baker during his life.

Jessica Frysz has never had a “normal” life. Diagnosed with a rare blood disorder at 11 months old, the Cheektowaga resident’s time has revolved around a dialysis machine ever since. Now 24, Frysz hopes that a kidney transplant from a live donor will allow her to live a life without the nine-hour-per-week treatment. 

For a two-week period, beginning June 21 on the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, to July 4, Independence Day, Catholics from the Diocese of Buffalo will join the faithful across the United States in the “Fortnight for Freedom,” described by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as, “a great hymn of prayer for our country.” Among the first martyrs of the Church, St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More remained true to their faith in the face of political persecution.

Shortly before his priestly ordination, Father Andrew Lauricella said felt excited for his future, which he hoped will see him ministering at the parish level, yet bittersweet about leaving the seminary behind.

Father Seán Paul Fleming couldn’t be more excited about his ordination to the priesthood.  “Time has been flying by,” he said. “I always take that as a sign that things are going well and I’m having fun.” The Eden native became a priest on June 2. 

Five area men were ordained permanent deacons in the Diocese of Buffalo on Saturday, June 9, at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo. The men have completed a training program of spiritual, theological and pastoral formation which lasted several years. 

If there’s any one arm of the Communications office that has expanded more than others in the past year, it’s been our efforts to employ social media to spread the message of the Diocese of Buffalo more effectively.

As I write this, it is World Communications Day as proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI. It is a typically quiet, breezy day in Butende, Uganda, with occasional passing clouds on an otherwise sunny afternoon. The temperatures fluctuate generally between the low to mid 80s but the sun, given that we are just south of the equator, burns with an intensity we are certainly not used to in Western New York.

As chairperson for the annual Catholic Communications Campaign, Sister M. Charlene Nowak, CSSF, will be seen and heard extolling the virtues of the diocesan Office of Communications through television and radio, and asking her audience to give generously. The retreat director has been working with the office for quite some time, both in her former role as vicar for religious and more recently as liaison between Daybreak TV and the Felician Sisters during the taping of 2011’s Midnight Mass, which aired on ABC television on Christmas morning.

The new bishop of Buffalo embarked on a whirlwind tour of the diocese Tuesday, as Bishop Richard J. Malone met with local Catholics for the first time since the announcement of his appointment by the Vatican. The current bishop of the Diocese of Portland, Maine, will be installed in Buffalo at St. Joseph Cathedral on Aug. 10.