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A special Mass on Thursday, Sept.1, will mark the merger of two congregations of the Brothers of Mercy. The 4 p.m. Mass at Our Lady of Peace, 10950 Main St., Clarence, will signify the union of the Brother of Mercy of Montabaur, located in Clarence, and the Brothers of Mercy of Mary Help of Christians, located in Trier, Germany. Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, will be the celebrant.

WASHINGTON, DC - On the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Sept. 1, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), extended an invitation to people of all faith to join Pope Francis and unite as witnesses for the care of creation.

BUFFALO - 101.7 FM WLOF Catholic Radio will provide listeners with exclusive live radio coverage of the canonization of Mother Teresa on September 4, 2016, in conjunction with the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) Radio.

The annual Men's Retreat sponsored by the Holy Name Society had a change in venue this year. Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora hosted 35 guests who learned about "The Blessed Mother and Her Apparitions" through talks and sharing.

WASHINGTON, DC - USCCB Migration & Refugee Services has received a large charitable donation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), to further efforts assisting refugees.

After a national search, Jill Cole has been named director of Residence Life and Judicial Affairs at Hilbert College. Cole began her new role in July.

The Buffalo State College Newman Center will welcome back an alumnus for a special Mass as it kicks off its 79th year. Father Zachary Miller, a 2008 grad, will celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit, a tradition from medieval times at universities in Paris, Bologna and Salamanca to invoke the Spirit's gifts at the opening of the school year.

Local high school students had the chance to ask difficult questions about their faith and the moral dimensions relevant to the modern-day challenges they encounter, at Canisius College's inaugural Be the Light Youth Theology Institute.

D'Youville College campus security officers are now pedaling across the West Side campus as part of the D'Youville Campus Security Operations' new bike patrol. The unit rolled out July 1.

ROME, ITALY (CNA) - A group of Holy See firefighters sent by Pope Francis to an earthquake-devastated town in Italy rescued a three-year-old boy from the rubble of his home.

Melanie Bruning, a junior interior design major at Villa Maria College, was awarded first place in the American Society of Interior Designers' 2016 Student Design Competition.

Desiring a closer union with God, I attended daily Mass, enrolled in a Bible study, helped with programs at my parish. I prayed daily rosaries, made regular use of the Sacrament of Confession. Still I thirsted for more. God seemed far from me, and I felt like I needed to present myself in a certain fashion in order to be worthy of a closer relationship with God.

We had not even finished drying our tears and saying prayers for the families of the victims of the Orlando shooting in June when a horrific week of events confronted us in July.

Western New York Lawyers for Life will hold its 20th annual Pregnancy Care Center benefit banquet on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at Creekside Banquet Facility, 2669 Union Road, Cheektowaga, starting with a social hour at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7. Guest speaker Ann McElhinney is a prominent Catholic investigative filmmaker who has recently produced a movie about Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist who was imprisoned for life for the murder of several born-alive infants, and manslaughter of a woman patient. McElhinney will show clips from her forthcoming film, "Gosnell."

TONAWANDA — Cardinal O'Hara High School has named Brian Lamping, of the COHS class of 2001, as athletic director, and Jill Monaco as assistant principal. Both new appointees have had a long history in Catholic education and received high marks from their supervisor.

Bishop Richard J. Malone celebrated an outdoor Mass for the volunteers of Buffalo's Little Portion Friary on Saturday, Aug. 13. Over three dozen of the homeless shelter's volunteer staff attended the annual Mass and picnic with the bishop.

Continuing our series on the Works of Mercy in our diocese, this week we visit the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Soon to be saint, Blessed Mother Teresa lived her life caring for the sick, poor, helpless and homeless. This week's "Consider This: Shelter the Homeless," Bishop Richard Malone includes some of her thoughts on this Corporal Work of Mercy

I have been saddened by the events that took place in Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas. As I heard and saw this happening again, my heart just was so heavy. I wanted to do something, but the feeling was also overwhelming. How can we get rid of this terrible sin?

The diocesan Care for Creation Committee and Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish will team up with NYSERDA to save the planet and help people save some money. The Blasdell parish will host an energy workshop on Thursday, Sept. 1.

This year Bishop Timon - St. Jude High School commemorates the 70th anniversary of its founding as Bishop Timon High School. To kick off the 70th anniversary commemoration, there will be a "Timon Turns 70" at Buffalo Riverfest Park on Sept. 10, 2016, from 5-9 p.m. Erik Bohen is serving as Event Chairperson.

WASHINGTON - Sister tephanie Still, PBVM, has been named director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO).

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - It's been said that saints often come in pairs.

After a few years of planning and one year of construction, the Mother Teresa Home has officially opened on Buffalo's East Side. Hundreds gathered on Thursday afternoon for a dedication Mass at St. Adalbert Church and then watched on a live video stream as Bishop Richard J. Malone blessed the tiny chapel in the Mother Teresa Home next door.

WASHINGTON - A joint declaration issued today by U.S. Catholic bishops and Iranian religious leaders calls for developing a culture of encounter, tolerance, dialogue, and peace that respects the religious traditions of others. The leaders regard the development and use of weapons of mass destruction and acts of terrorism as "immoral."

The Annunciation Strong Start Early Learning Academy's "Mommy and Me" program will host an open house from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 19, at 7580 Clinton St., Elma. The program takes place in Annunciation's former school building.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY — Niagara University broke ground last month on an $8 million renovation and expansion of its dining facility located at Clet Hall.

The goal of the "Gear Up" engineering component of the STREAM initiative is to allow students to explore the engineering design process as they tackle challenges directly related to the curriculum.

WASHINGTON - Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), invited all Catholics to unite in prayers with Pope Francis for the victims of the earthquakes in Italy and for those suffering due to natural disasters.

With two weeks to go before the start of the school year, more than 300 Catholic school teachers from the Diocese of Buffalo gathered on Wednesday at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute to get some hands on preparation for teaching various STREAM courses to students in the coming school year.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) president, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, has called for an emergency collection to assist victims of the recent flooding in Louisiana. He also issued a statement of solidarity with the victims and invited Catholics to generously help those in need.

In order to carry out the Jesuit tradition of serving the poor while also helping the organizations that serve them, volunteers of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps serve throughout the Diocese of Buffalo. The organization is a recent addition to Western New York, having expanded here in February. Jesuit priests found the group, which pairs semi-retired men and women with service groups, in 1995.

The Public Policy Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo is hosting a public forum on Thursday, Sept. 8, to address proposed New York State legislation that would legalize doctor-assisted suicide. The bill has already been approved by the Assembly Health Committee, setting the stage for a possible vote this year. Senator Diane Savino, of Staten Island, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, of Scarsdale, each sponsored bills which 'relate to a terminally ill patient's request for and use of medication for medical aid in dying.'

It's been just about a year since Father Andrew Lauricella exchanged his role of a parish priest for an office in the downtown Buffalo Catholic Center. He now serves as the director of vocations for the diocese. He has gone from bringing God to the people, to bringing people to God.

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY - Five Niagara University students are spending a portion of the summer in Haiti, deploying the knowledge they've ascertained during their collegiate studies to assist children in one of the world's most impoverished countries.

More than 120 bishops and 15 Cardinals will join in a continental celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in Bogotá, Colombia, on August 27-30.

Spain, Portugal and France are all on the itinerary next March, when Msgr. David Slubecky, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Buffalo, will lead a group of local Catholics on a pilgrimage which will include the sight of a candlelight procession outside the Little Chapel of Apparitions in Fatima, Portugal. The trip falls within weeks of the 100th anniversary of when the Mother of God appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima.

On this week's podcast Cheryl Calire, director of Pro Life Activities for the diocese, talks about the dedication and blessing of the new Mother Theresa Home on the East Side of Buffalo.

The thrill of World Youth Day needs to continue in our parishes. Bishop Richard J. Malone encourages parishes to continue the spiritual journey in this week's "Consider This."

Once again we reflect upon our concerns for the Catholic Church in Poland. Through the 73-year history of the Catholic League Organization much has been accomplished in charity, which cannot be evaluated in dollars alone or weighed by any material instrument.