Are you ready for Laudato Si’ Week? Is your parish ready? Perhaps you are wondering, “What is Laudato Si’ Week?” And for that matter, what does Laudato Si’ mean? Laudato Si’ is medieval Italian for “Praise be to you.” It is a quote from St. Francis of Assisi’s beautiful “Canticle of the Creatures,” “Praise be […]
Sister Paula Marie Notarthomas, OSF, died March 11, 2023, at the age of 91. She had been a Sister of St. Francis for 72 years. Born February 4, 1932, Sister Paula Marie was raised and educated in Syracuse. In 1951, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis of Williamsville. She earned a […]
Sister Patricia Marie Hartley, OSF, educator, hospital public relations manager and pastoral care assistant, died March 3, 2023. Born Carol Hartley on Dec. 18, 1936, Sister Patricia Marie was the third child on Zita and Carl Hartley. Carol spent her childhood in Tonawanda and attended St. Francis of Assis School graduating in 1950. She went […]
Bishop Michael W. Fisher has made the following appointments. Msgr. Robert E. Zapfel, longtime pastor of St. Leo the Great in Amherst, and St. Benedict in Eggertsville, is now the temporary administrator of those parishes. This is in addition to his responsibilities as vicar forane of the Northern Erie Vicariate. Father William J. Weiksnar, OFM, […]
Sister Julie Uhrich, who served as regional director of religious education of the Southern Tier for over two decades, died Nov. 21, 2022. She was 80. Born Carol Uhrich on Jan. 3, 1942, to Mildred (Knab) and Julien Uhrich, Sister was introduced to the Sisters of St. Francis in Williamsville when she attended Bishop O’Hern […]
World Youth Day 2023 is now less than a year away. Lisbon, Portugal, not far from the site of the Fatima apparitions, will host the international Catholic event Aug. 1-6. World Youth Day is a worldwide encounter with the pope celebrated about every three years in a different country. Events include Mass with Pope Francis, […]
Sister Carleen Marie Stengel, OSF, a lifelong teacher and Franciscan Sister of the Neumann Communities embraced death in the early hours of Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. She was 83 years old and had been a Sister of St. Francis for almost 65 years. Born Anna Stengel June 30, 1938, in Buffalo, the youngest and only […]
In the latest installment of the Church on Fire lecture series presented by Blessed Sacrament Church in Buffalo, Father Ross Chamberland, OFM, Ed.D., spoke on the topic of living sacramentally and our imagination as he presented, “St. Francis of Assisi – Then and Today: ‘Rebuild My Church.’” “Sacraments are the most holy entity in the […]
The parish pastoral council of Blessed Sacrament Church in Buffalo is pleased to announce that the second lecture in the Catherine M. and Paul W. Beltz lecture series of the Church on Fire: Stay With Us! Program will be held on Thursday, Jan. 20. Father Ross Chamberland, OFM, Ed.D. will deliver the lecture, “St. Francis […]
Bishop Michael W. Fisher has appointed Father Jay W. McGinnis as parish administrator of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Tonawanda. This was effective Nov. 22. Father McGinnis has officially altered his “retired” status and is again an active priest of the Diocese. Deacon Jerry Hodson will become the temporary parish administrator of Coronation Parish, in addition to […]
