Bishop Richard J. Malone referred to Baby Jesse as a "little saint" during a prayer service at St. Mary Cemetery in Dunkirk on Oct. 20.

The first Blue Mass in the Diocese of Buffalo will take place on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo. The Mass will honor local EMS, fire and law enforcement departments of all faiths who live and work in the diocese. Bishop Richard J. Malone welcomes everyone, from all counties, paid and volunteer staff, families and friends, to attend this special commemorative Mass to honor and thank these men and women for their service to the common good.

St. Andrew Parish in Sloan has been celebrating a special anniversary this year, with a series of events to commemorate a century since the parish's establishment.

Bishop Richard J. Malone served as the main celebrant at a Mass that honored missionaries from the diocese who are ministering throughout the world.

Bishop Richard J. Malone will preside over a prayer service on Tuesday, Oct. 20, the observance of the National Remembrance Day for the Unborn. The prayer service will be held at 4 p.m. at St. Mary Cemetery, 10880 Bennett Road (Route 60), Dunkirk, at Baby Jesse's grave.

Bishop Richard Malone asks that we pray and help the plight of Syrian refugees in a new "Consider This."

Every year we remember in a special way our baptismal call to mission as we celebrate World Mission Sunday, which is being held this year on Oct. 18. On this Sunday, we will gather at the Eucharist, as will Catholics throughout the world, in a spirit of love for evangelization so that, through our prayers and concrete acts of solidarity, the gift of faith may be shared with all.

Trocaire College in Buffalo presented Bishop Richard J. Malone with the President's Distinguished Service Award during the college's 2015 Reflections awards dinner at Salvatore's Italian Gardens in Depew on Thursday, Oct. 8.

October is the month for the Blessed Mother and the Rosary. Bishop Richard J. Malone talks about the mysteries of the Rosary in a new "Consider This."

In what has become an annual tradition celebrating the Feast of St. Francis, Bishop Richard J. Malone spent a weekend morning blessing pets at his residence in Buffalo. Was your four-legged friend there? Check out our new photo gallery.

"Every Life is Worth Living" has been a consistent theme of Pope Francis and one that has particular urgency today. This year's theme for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Respect Life Program fills us with encouragement and hope and calls us to love, defend and celebrate all human life. It calls us to joyfully follow the example of Christ, to love without limits, and further, to act on that sense of true Christian charity.

On Oct. 1, a yearly tradition among Catholics in the legal profession continued at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Buffalo. Bishop Richard J. Malone presided over the Red Mass, an annual gathering of lawyers, judges, paralegals and others, with a homily tailed to them. The Mass concluded with a speech by Hon. Frank Caruso, a New York State Supreme Court justice and City of Tonawanda native, who recommended to those in attendance that they continue to use a Catholic sense of compassion in their jobs.

Bishop Richard J. Malone will bless animals on the front lawn of his residence, 77 Oakland Place in Buffalo, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3, the day before the Feast of St. Francis.

"We need more priests, we don't want to close any more schools and parishes, and how can we get the young people to get to church?" These are challenges we face as Catholics, but what about our strengths? Bishop Richard Malone asks us to look at the fundamental strength found in the Eucharist, in our parishes, Catholic social services and in us, in a new "Consider This." Watch it below:

Amtrak train #184 is my mobile office as I write this column en route from Washington, D.C., to New York City. I have just left a U.S. Capital totally energized by the presence of Pope Francis.

"Three Buffalo bishops walk into a cathedral" isn't the beginning of a joke, but it's what happened Thursday night when Pope Francis arrived in New York City. See how the Big Apple is reacting to the Holy Father in our new photo gallery.

Bishop Richard J. Malone, who attended a midday prayer service at St. Matthew's Cathedral and the canonization Mass of St. Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Wednesday, talked to the media Thursday afternoon about the pope's trip so far. Bishop Malone will also participate in papal events in New York City and Philadelphia in the coming days. Here are some highlights from the bishop's media conference:

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - In the longest speech of his trip so far, Pope Francis on Wednesday praised U.S. bishops for their commitment to defending life, their handling of the clerical abuse crisis, and their welcome of immigrants, while urging them not to be afraid to do more.

Pope Francis arrives today for his first visit to the United States. He will do many significant things in his six days with us. He will visit the White House, address Congress and the United Nations, and participate in a multi-religious service at New York's 9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center site.

A native of Nigeria and a father of two are among the four men who were ordained transitional deacons on Saturday, Sept. 19, at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo. Through the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Richard J. Malone will ordain Venatius Ifeyichukwu Agbasiere, Michael K. Brown, Samuel T. Giangreco Jr. and Michael LaMarca at a special 10 a.m. Mass as the seminarians move one step closer to becoming priests.

In a new episode of "Consider This," Bishop Richard J. Malone brings our attention to the Kevin Guest House, a house where outpatients, and families of patients can stay while their loved ones are being treated in Buffalo area hospitals.

When Pope Francis makes his first ever visit to the United States this month, he'll have a packed itinerary as he travels to Washington, D.C., New York City and Philadelphia. Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo will also have a full schedule that includes several interactions with the pope.

A native of Nigeria and a father of two are among the four men who will be ordained transitional deacons on Saturday, Sept. 19, at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo. Through the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, Bishop Richard J. Malone will ordain Venatius Ifeyichukwu Agbasiere, Michael K. Brown, Samuel T. Giangreco Jr. and Michael LaMarca at a special 10 a.m. Mass as the seminarians move one step closer to becoming priests.

With the upcoming World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia (Sept. 22-25), and in anticipation of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which begins on Dec. 8, Bishop Richard Malone has decided to eliminate all fees associated with seeking a marriage annulment through the Diocese of Buffalo's Marriage Tribunal.

St. Mary of the Angels Parish has been a fixture of the Olean community since the current church was built in 1915. The parish will celebrate its 100th anniversary in September with a Mass and concert. Part of the parish's celebration includes a series of ongoing renovations that have been paid for by the parish's centennial capital campaign with funding from the donations of various benefactors.

Bishop Malone talks about returning to school, faith formation and Catechetical Sunday in a new episode of "Consider This."

Thousands of students were welcomed back into school buildings - both public and private - this week. As students, faces filled with joy, smiles and nerves, walked off the bus onto the grounds of the Catholic Academy of West Buffalo Tuesday morning, they were greeted by three of the top diocesan officials - Bishop Richard J. Malone, Diocesan Secretary for Catholic Education Carol Kostyniak, and Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools Sister Carol Cimino, SSJ.

After consulting with the Canonists of the Chancery, I have confirmed that the faculties granted to all priests of the Buffalo Diocese include the faculty of remitting the excommunication attached to the procurement of abortion. This has been the case in our diocese since the 1980s during Bishop Edward Head's tenure. By extending this faculty to every priest throughout the world, Pope Francis is reminding us of the limitless power of God's mercy and compassion.

ST. BONAVENTURE - Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo, will preside over St. Bonaventure University's Opening Mass of the Holy Spirit on Sunday, Aug. 30.

Bishop Richard J. Malone says parish communities are the heart of the church in "Consider This."

Bishop Richard Malone explains how East Aurora's Christ the King Seminary offer education and services for all of us in a new "Consider This."

The tragic and mistaken Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage legally to include so-called "same-sex marriage" has many negative consequences. Among those consequences, one of the most alarming, in my judgment, is the threat this ruling poses to the religious freedom of people of faith and faith-based institutions that honor marriage as God has created it to be, the union of one man and one woman, open to the birth and rearing of children.

Bishop Richard J. Malone talks St. Ignatius and the Jesuit influences in the Diocese of Buffalo in this episode of "Consider This."

Over the past few years, there's been a lot of excitement over the new economic developments and community revivals in Buffalo. Canalside, the nearby HarborCenter, Larkinville and the Buffalo medical corridor have seen lots of new construction, businesses and people come to the city.

Bishop Richard Malone shares some characteristics that make a good parish in a new episode of his weekly YouTube show, "Consider This."

Last year, part of Buffalo history made its way to St. Pacificus Oratory in Humphrey.

Bishop Richard J. Malone remembers, and reminds us of, the contributions of St. John Paul II in a new episode of "Consider This." In his encyclical on the environment, "Laudato Si," Pope Francis mentions St. John Paul II's first encyclical, which also emphasized care for the environment.

Since his installation to Buffalo in August 2012, Bishop Richard J. Malone has ordained a half-dozen men to the priesthood. See where they are now in our new photo gallery.

Bishop Richard J. Malone talks about the pope's encyclical "Laudato Si," on care for our common home and reads part of Pope Francis' prayer.

There are many statements in Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si" (Praise be to you, O Lord!) that are key to the implications of the Holy Father's second encyclical letter. The theme of the mutuality of the humankind-earth relationship is a primary one. The world of nature serves humankind in so many ways. The pope reminds us to be profoundly grateful for that service, and to remember that we humans are called also to serve the earth, particularly by doing all that we can to preserve it from further destruction.