This week we hear from the new managing editor of the Western New York Catholic, Patrick McPartland.

On this week's show we talk about Burgers, Brews and Blues, a fundraiser for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities on Tuesday August 14 at their St. Mary of the Angels center, 201 Reist St. in Williamsville.

St. Vincent de Paul Summer Camp in Angola on the Lake is having its first ever reunion on Saturday, Aug. 6. This fun event will be a celebration of many years of camp life that brought much joy to campers of all faiths.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - After several shootings and increased racial tensions around the country, the head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a national day of prayer and appointed a task force devoted to peace and unity.

While pilgrims are in Poland celebrating with the pope, locals will be doing the same at the seminary.

"We have an exciting journey ahead of us," said Bishop Richard J. Malone to some of the 200 local pilgrims who are headed for World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. During a send-off Mass Friday afternoon at Our Lady of Victory Basilica, the bishop said "I ask you to keep in mind one simple truth. The experience we're sharing is all about Jesus."

Over the summer, bonfires blaze, children are out of school and summer clothes make their return from the back of the closet. However, for parishes in the diocese, summer is also a prime opportunity for faith formation and ensuring parishes and their faith remain strong throughout warmer months of the year in Buffalo.

Mike Maloney will never forget the day in 2012 that his doctor told him he had ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The life expectancy for someone with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is about three to five years. On that day, he began coming to grips with the possibility of having about a thousand days to live.

A weekend retreat called "Communion of Hearts" took place at the St. Columban Center in Derby on May 20-22. The theme was chosen as the retreat focused on entering into deeper union with God during the Year of Mercy by allowing participants to be touched by God's mercy and then sharing it with others.

Nearly 200 people responded to the deaths of two black men and five police officers with a prayer for peace. Representatives of area religious organizations joined together for a citywide prayer vigil.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are like a good fitness regime. You keep practicing it long after the coach is done coaching, long after the initial fun has worn off, and long after the novelty has faded away.

When Josh and Maria Gehl leave for three months of training in September, they will begin serving a two-year assignment in another country.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - On America's 240th Independence Day, Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh called on Catholics to be "footnotes" for the truth that is Christ.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - Both the Catholic Church and the tradition of religious freedom can trace their roots in the United States to the earliest days of the founding of Maryland, says a new documentary premiering on EWTN over the Fourth of July Weekend.

In August, the diocesan Department of Lifelong Faith Formation will welcome a well-known speaker on Catholic adult faith formation to Immaculate Conception Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph in Hamburg. From 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 17, "Engaging Adults: Presented by Vibrant Faith" will include Leif Kehrwald of Vibrant Faith, a family faith development coordinator.

ROME, ITALY (CNA/EWTN News) - A Vatican conference dedicated to the up-and-coming 'theology of disability' aims not only to end common stigma surrounding persons with disabilities, but to show that their lives are a gift and to help integrate them more fully into the life of the Church and of society.

After years in the ministry of healing, Father Richard DiGiulio found himself on the receiving end during a conference in Georgia. During an ecumenical prayer service where guests were prayed over, the knee pain that has bothered the 75-year-old priest for some time vanished.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and Richard C. Suchan, executive director of The Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, have announced Judy and Tom Beecher, Barbara and Jerry Castiglia, and Betsy and John Sullivan are serving as co-chairs of the "Upon This Rock" capital and endowment campaign.

"An exceptionally good trip" is the way Father Matt Nycz describes a recent pilgrimage to Poland. The pastor of Blessed Mary Angela Parish in Dunkirk, who was born and raised in Poland, helped arrange the mid-May trip which included about 30 Catholics from the Diocese of Buffalo.

The annual UB North Campus Newman Center Bridge Lecture Series begins June 22 and will continue each Wednesday evening until Aug. 10. The lecture series began in July 2003 as a weeklong series of lectures to bridge the gap between the life of the university and the life of the community. It later grew into a summer series every Wednesday.

Father Richard Poblocki will celebrate a Mass in honor of St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, at St. Josaphat Church, 20 Peoria Ave., Cheektowaga, on Saturday, June 25, at noon. Father Escriva was born in Barbastro, Spain in 1902 and ordained to the priesthood in 1925. He founded Opus Dei (Work of God) in 1928.

If you have felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to grow in your personal spiritual capacity, I'd like to invite you to consider a very unique opportunity known as the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola or the Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life.

Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora held a pastoral conference in May on the growing problem of opioid, prescription and other drug overdoses in the region. The event had a range of speakers who addressed this serious issue and suggested ways to respond.

A recipient of a miracle that contributed to the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, the Saint of Divine Mercy, will give witness at two area parishes on June 2 and 3.

When the idea of creating a senior apartment complex was first introduced several years ago on the Brothers of Mercy Campus in Clarence, planners quickly recognized that Western New Yorkers were looking for something different. Rather than just a place to live, they wanted a feeling of community. That led to the building of the Montabaur Heights Apartments.

ATHOL SPRINGS — The Summer Enrichment Program at St. Francis High School gives students the opportunity to develop intellectually and creatively while having fun in the summer.

The Second Vatican Council Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy speaks of the power of music in the Catholic Church. Musician John Michael Talbot echoed that notion to the Western New York Catholic last month. St. Amelia Parish in Tonawanda has a band that proves that music enhances worship.

Park Creek Assisted Living Community is in the heart of Williamsville at 410 Mill St. It has room for 94 residents in need of traditional assisted living or memory care.

At Little Portion Friary in Buffalo, a team of 100-plus volunteers lives the mission of the Catholic Church to provide food for the hungry, clothing for the naked, and shelter for the homeless.

The St. Thomas More Guild will posthumously honor the Honorable Kevin M. Dillon at its annual luncheon in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center on Tuesday, May 31, at noon.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - On Thursday Pope Francis said he would be open to the idea of forming a commission to study the historical context of the female diaconate, as well as the possibility of women serving as deacons today.

The Society of Our Lady of Divine Mercy is sponsoring a Pilgrimage to the Divine Mercy Shrine for St. Faustina Day on Oct. 4, 5, and 6, in Stockbridge, Mass. This is a special opportunity to go to the shrine and learn about the devotion to the Divine Mercy.

Students of the Early Childhood Center at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Tonawanda held a special ceremony honoring Mary on May 6, the mother of Jesus, and their own mothers and grandmothers for Mother's Day.

Fifteen parishioners of St. Brendan on the Lake in Newfane will be confirmed at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo on May 15, at 3 p.m. The parish's director of faith formation, Mary Palmer, its catechist, James Cantella, and two confirmation students see a special significance in being able to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation in the Diocese of Buffalo's mother church.

St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo has been helping raise awareness and provide education about the issue of human trafficking since 2011. It is estimated that 12.3 million men, women and children around the world are in trafficking situations and at least 15,000 people are trafficked in the United States every year.

The Bishop's Committee Visitors will hold an inspirational day of reflection on Thursday, May 12, at St. Philip the Apostle Parish at 950 Losson Road in Cheektowaga. Sister Mary Johnice Rzadkiewicz, CSSF, is will be the speaker at this gathering that begins at 9:30 a.m. and concludes at 2 p.m.

TONAWANDA — The Grief Support Group of St. Christopher Parish will have Dr. Amy Beth Taublieb as the monthly speaker on May 11 at 6:30 p.m. Taublieb is nationally known for her work as a clinical psychologist who has helped many people deal with their grief throughout the years.

Fatal addictions to drugs, particularly heroin and opiates, have impacted Western New York in a big way this year, as about 11 people are dying each week from overdoses. Just as Erie County officials have stepped up their efforts to curb the rapid increase in substance abuse, faith leaders are organizing a pastoral conference in response to the epidemic at Christ the King Seminary on May 14.

DENVER, COLO. (CNA/EWTN News) - "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

WILLIAMSVILLE — The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities will host their 14th annual "Food & Wine Tasting" on Tuesday, May 3, at St. Mary of the Angels, 201 Reist St., Williamsville. The tasting will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., and all proceeds will benefit the sisters' important ministries throughout Western New York and beyond.