When Bryce McLanahan walked up the aisle of St. Joseph Cathedral to receive his award as one of the Altar Servers of the Year, it was the final steps in a unique journey for the Amherst teen. Although baptized in the Catholic Church, he grew up not attending regular Mass with his family. Instead, he forged his own spiritual path.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit down with a bishop and chat, just chat, about whatever's on your mind? What would you ask him?

As we continue to deal with the impact of the revelation of clerical sexual abuse allegations in our diocese, there is so much I need and want to say.

Inside a darkened St. Joseph Cathedral, a paschal candle was lit from a blessed fire. The candle was carried by Deacon Paul Cygan proclaiming "The Light of Christ" in the procession, as one candle lit another, then two, then a hundred. As the cathedral became dimly lit by candlelight, Bishop Richard J. Malone began the annual celebration of the Easter Vigil that heralds the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Passion of Jesus Christ was solemnly celebrated by Bishop Richard J. Malone and a congregation at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo, as people attended a special liturgy to mark Good Friday 2018 on March 30.

At the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, Bishop Richard Malone urged the faithful gathered at St. Joseph Cathedral to recommit themselves to look for every opportunity to be present to one another in love and in care and compassion, especially those who need it most.

At the annual Chrism Mass, at St. Joseph Cathedral Tuesday, Bishop Richard Malone told hundreds in attendance that the Catholic community is in the throes of crisis, but that it presents what he called a "graced opportunity to lift ourselves beyond tragedy and to heroic heights."

The Most Rev. Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, was joined by Catholic Charities officials and Appeal leadership Tuesday to provide an update on this year's 94th annual campaign following the conclusion of Appeal Week 2018 on Palm Sunday in all parishes throughout the Diocese of Buffalo.

"Hosanna to the son of David" sang the choir as the celebration of Palm Sunday began. "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest." Those words come from the Gospel of Mark and describe Jesus coming into Jerusalem for what would be His crucifixion.

Thousands of Western New Yorkers donned their best green and flashed their smiles during the annual St. Patrick's Day celebration in downtown Buffalo. Bishop Richard J. Malone started the day with a Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral, and then marched in the afternoon parade. Relive our favorite memories in our new photo gallery.

Each year, the annual Mass and March for Life in Washington, D.C., is becoming more and more a kind of youth and young adult event. Of course, we're grateful to all the old timers (like me) who continue to attend. I am extremely proud of our Catholic colleges and high schools that send delegations each year to witness to the sacredness of human life. If your school was represented this year, thank you. If not, why not? See you next year, maybe?

The joy and sorrow of modern day pregnancy served as the topic of the evening at the seventh annual benefit to support the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center. EWTN Radio personality Gloria Purvis delivered an address that explained the troubles she had on her journey to have a child.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced the establishment of a voluntary Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) for those who have made claims that they were sexually abused as a child by a member of the clergy in the Diocese of Buffalo. Individuals who have previously made claims will be contacted and invited to participate in this voluntary program offering monetary settlements.

Following the 18th United States school shooting of 2018 that killed at least 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school Feb. 14, Bishop Richard J. Malone called for prayers and action to stop the ongoing "culture of death."

Hundreds of people spent their lunch hour at St. Joseph Cathedral Feb. 14 to celebrate Mass and receive ashes from Bishop Richard J. Malone on Ash Wednesday.

When I mentioned to a friend that I intended to write this month's column on the new evangelization, he accused me of having an obsession - a "holy" obsession, he qualified - with that theme. I told him that if I do indeed have such an obsession, it is because I am convinced that the work of helping people encounter Jesus Christ and His saving message is the primary mission of the Church ... at this time, and at all times. Evangelization is, as Blessed Paul VI declared in his 1976 encyclical "Evangelii Nuntiandi," the "deepest identity" of the Church. The Church, he wrote, "exists in order to evangelize" (#14).

A full Church witnessed history on Feb. 11 as Deborah Brown became the first layperson installed as pastoral administrator in the Diocese of Buffalo. Bishop Richard J. Malone installed Brown at St. John the Baptist Parish in Alden during the 11 a.m. Mass.

"We value tremendously the service that you render to us," Bishop Richard J. Malone told a gathering of healthcare workers Saturday afternoon at the annual White Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral. "We pray that all of you in the healthcare professions will be guided by the hand of God and sustained by Christ's grace as you engage the art and science of healing body, mind and spirit."

As you are likely aware, St. Valentine's Day falls on Ash Wednesday this year. This is the first time these two occasions have overlapped since 1945. As a result, some people have inquired as to whether a dispensation from the Ash Wednesday fast and abstinence will be granted.

Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, will distribute ashes at the 12:05 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo, on Wednesday, February 14, Ash Wednesday.

At SS. Columba-Brigid Parish in Buffalo, a packed church came together to remember the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a day before what would have been the slain civil rights leader's 89th birthday and months before the 50th anniversary of his death. Bishop Richard J. Malone served as celebrant at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. diocesan celebration on Jan. 14, with Deacon LeRoy T. Gill Jr., from the Archdiocese of Chicago, serving as guest homilist.

As the Diocese of Buffalo celebrates its educational institutions during Catholic Schools Week, Bishop Richard J. Malone made a pastoral visit to St. Aloysius Church and Regional School in Springville Thursday morning.

Please join us on Saturday, Feb. 10, at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo for the annual Diocesan White Mass, with Anointing of the Sick, at 4:30 p.m. All doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals will receive a special blessing from our principal celebrant, Bishop Richard J. Malone.

The Department of Pro-Life Activities of the Diocese of Buffalo will hold the 7th annual St. Gianna Benefit Banquet on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. at the Millennium Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga. The St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center, the pastoral outreach of the Department of Pro-Life Activities for the Diocese of Buffalo, provides material, emotional, and spiritual support to mothers, fathers and young families in need from pregnancy through the first years of life. The center follows the example of St. Gianna Molla, the patron saint of physicians, pregnant mothers and unborn children, in respecting, protecting, and cherishing all human life as a precious gift from God. Proceeds from the dinner will be used to support the center. Buffalo Bishop Richard J. Malone will provide opening remarks and this year's keynote speaker will be Catholic activist Gloria Purvis.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has reappointed Msgr. Salvatore Manganello as pastor of St. Louis Parish for a third term of six years.

On Saturday, January 27 at 4:00 p.m., Bishop Richard J. Malone will celebrate an Asylum Seekers and Refugee Awareness Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Athol Springs. It will mark the fifth anniversary of Buffalo Peace House. A reception will follow in the Parish Social Center with a meet and greet with the bishop as well as residents and alumni of the Buffalo Peace House. Tours of the house will also be available.

Healthcare professionals will be recognized at the White Mass on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo. Bishop Richard J. Malone will be the principal celebrant and will offer a special blessing for those working in the healthcare field.

When I mentioned to a friend that I intended to write this month's column on the new evangelization, he accused me of having an obsession - a "holy" obsession, he qualified - with that theme. I told him that if I do indeed have such an obsession, it is because I am convinced that the work of helping people encounter Jesus Christ and His saving message is the primary mission of the Church ... at this time, and at all times. Evangelization is, as Blessed Paul VI declared in his 1976 encyclical "Evangelii Nuntiandi," the "deepest identity" of the Church. The Church, he wrote, "exists in order to evangelize" (#14).

More than a thousand people turned out at Kleinhans Music Hall on Monday afternoon to celebrate the life of Robert G. Wilmers, longtime CEO and chairman of M&T Bank Corporation. Bishop Richard J. Malone recalled Wilmers as a 'remarkable gentleman' whose personal generosity benefited Catholic education and Catholic Charities.

Today Bishop Richard J. Malone issued the following timely directives in response to the current influenza outbreak within New York State to all pastors, pastoral administrators, principals and presidents.

Bishop Richard J. Malone is one who practices what he preaches. The man who has spoken about the need to help the neighbors offered his Christian generosity by volunteering with Meals on Wheels just before Christmas.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities honored those who have stood up in the fight for human life during a special Mass at St. Bernadette Parish in Orchard Park. At the Jan. 13 Mass, Pro-Vita Awards handed out in five categories to people and groups dedicated to the pro-life cause.

Bishop Richard J. Malone paid a visit to St. Paul Parish in Kenmore for a special occasion, the completion of a new addition to the parish in December. The bishop blessed the new gathering place, a parish center, after that morning's 11 o'clock Mass before a gathering of clergy and members of the parish community.

On Jan. 10, Bishop Richard J. Malone announced an $11 million goal for the 2018 Catholic Charities Appeal, joining representatives of Catholic Charities of Buffalo at their new Cheektowaga office providing services for the Women, Infants and Children program in Western New York. In addition to the 2018 goal, the bishop announced this year's patron saint, St. Clare of Assisi; its theme, "Love Your Neighbor," and the 2018 appeal family, the first such family to have this role.

The Diocese of Buffalo will mark the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Richard J. Malone on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 10 a.m. at SS. Columba & Brigid Church, 75 Hickory St., Buffalo. Deacon LeRoy T. Gill Jr. of the Archdiocese of Chicago will be the guest homilist.

For more than 30 years, the Catholic Church and United States bishops have recognized National Migration Week. This year, NMW will take place from Jan. 7-13, and its theme, "Many Journeys, One Family," will serve as a reminder that Americans came from many different origins, with every person and family having a unique story.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has offered to celebrate two Confirmation Masses at Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Orchard Park; one at 1:15 p.m. for those who prefer to stick to the original plan, and another at the 10:30 a.m. Mass for those who wish to get home in time for the big game.

"What was the best part of your pilgrimage to Ireland?" I've heard that question a dozen times since our return from the "land of saints and scholars." The short answer is, the simple fact that I finally got there, for the first time, and just months before my 72nd birthday. Too long a wait, to be sure, but well worth it in every way. It was a truly blessed journey of faith and prayer, joy and beauty, history and ... fun.

Bishop Richard J. Malone has announced the following clergy assignments.

Bishop Richard J. Malone announced the diocesan Upon This Rock capital and endowment campaign has raised $107 million since February 2016, surpassing its goal of $100 million, thanks to the donations and efforts of 27,000 benefactors who gave gifts of varying sizes. The bishop made the announcement during a press conference Nov. 20.