One hundred men and women profess vows to religious communities every year. One of those women has professed her final vows as a Sister of Mercy of the Americas and will continue to serve the Buffalo Diocese. Sister Colleen O’Toole would make a great poster child for religious sisters because she fits the profile found […]
Proclaiming it a joyful day for the Church, Bishop Michael W. Fisher opened remarks during his homily during the Mass for the Ordination to the Holy Order of Deacon. Jeffrey Donovan became a transitional deacon in the diocese during the Mass at OLV National Shrine & Basilica on May 27. Bishop Fisher thanked Msgr. David […]
Music, the great outdoors, and of course faith, mingled together to lead Joseph Tokasz to the priesthood. Father Tokasz, who was ordained June 4, always let what was dear to his heart drive him. Born in West Seneca and raised in Elma, the oldest of three kids in a tightknit family, received the music gene […]
Father Joseph Franz can point to two life-changing moments for leading him to the priesthood – his father’s death and his divorce. “It was difficult,” he says of his father’s death 25 years ago. Gerald Franz died after a six-month battle with cancer. Father Joseph, the fifth of six kids born and raised in East Eden, […]
It seemed very appropriate that on the 175th anniversary of the diocese’s founding that two men named Joseph were ordained at St. Joseph Cathedral. Joseph Franz and Joseph Tokasz celebrated the rite of commissioning a minister on June 4 in the downtown church. “As we know St. Joseph, who is our patron of the diocese; […]
On Holy Thursday, May 26, some members of the St. Greg’s MOMS Ministry, spanning two decades, were able to celebrate the 20th anniversary breakfast at Brookfield Country Club. The morning was filled with coffee and fellowship, which felt more like a reunion. A rosary for peace was said for the unrest in the world and […]
For Andrew Mical, the formation process of becoming a permanent deacon was not what he expected. He spent the five-year process of discerning and learning while the diocese began Chapter 11 reorganization. He experienced the closing of the local Christ the King Seminary, the Covid-19 pandemic, and an adjustment to remote learning. He also made […]
Is it Doctor Deacon or Deacon Doctor? Timothy Haley is trying to figure out how he will be addressed now that he has been ordained a permanent deacon. The colorectal surgeon points to his medical experience as leading him to a more spiritual life. “I always had faith when I was a kid because I […]
At 38, Mark Bialkowski is unusually young for a deacon, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t put a lot of thought into his vocation. As a teen, he joined the St. Joseph Club, a program for young men discerning priesthood. From there he spent three years living at the John Paul II Residence in North […]
The word on everyone’s lips was joy. And Buffalo never needed joy more than right now. The Diocese of Buffalo welcomed three new permanent deacons on May 21 during a special Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral. “My brothers and sisters, this is a joyful day; a day when we celebrate an ancient rite of ordination […]
