Bishop Malone's arrival and installation

A Mass of Installation for Bishop Richard J. Malone will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 10, 2012, at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., in Buffalo, N.Y. 

Since my appointment, I have learned a great deal about the faithful of the diocese, their incredible compassion and generosity to those in need and the countless ministries that make a positive difference in peoples’ lives on a daily basis, Bishop Malone said.  I look forward to joining this effort as we continue to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of Western New York.

Bishop Malone will be the principal celebrant of the Mass as he becomes the 14th bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo.  He succeeds Bishop Kmiec, who has led the diocese since Oct. 28, 2004.  Pope Benedict XVI accepted Bishop Kmiec’s letter of resignation on May 29, 2012.  Upon his retirement, Bishop Kmiec will become bishop emeritus of Buffalo.
           
Presiding at the installation will be Cardinal Timothy J. Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, archbishop of Boston, and Cardinal Edward M. Egan, archbishop emeritus of New York. 
Archbishop Carlo M. Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States, will read the letter from the pope, naming Bishop Malone as the new spiritual leader of the Diocese of Buffalo. 
           
More than two dozen bishops from the United States and Canada are scheduled to concelebrate the installation Mass, including Archbishop Henry J. Mansell, archbishop of Hartford and former bishop of Buffalo, Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, bishop of Syracuse and native of Kenmore, and Bishop Donald W. Trautman, bishop of Erie and a native of Buffalo.  Priests and deacons from the Diocese of Buffalo, Diocese of Portland and Archdiocese of Boston will also participate.
           
More than 70 singers and musicians will take part in the installation Mass.  The Diocesan Festival Chorus will be under the direction of Alan Lukas, director of music for the diocese, who will also be principal organist.  Tim Socha will direct the Cathedral Choir for the prelude music and will assist Lukas as an organist.  There will be five cantors and five additional instrumentalists.

During the Mass, petitions will be read in several different languages, including Spanish, Burmese, Vietnamese, Korean, Polish and Italian.  The Knights of St. Gregory, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre, Knights of Columbus and Knights of St. John will serve as the honor guard.  Members of the Diocesan Youth Board will be banner bearers.

Bishop Malone will welcome leaders from a number of other religious faith communities in Western New York.  Because of limited seating, the cathedral capacity is 1,200, the installation Mass is a ticketed event, with more than 2,100 invitations sent out. A reception at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo will immediately follow the installation Mass.
           
In the weeks following his installation, Bishop Malone will be traveling throughout Western New York as he continues to familiarize himself with the diocese, its people and its ministries.  On Monday, Aug. 13, at 5 p.m., at Our Lady of Peace Church in Clarence, Bishop Malone will celebrate Mass and attend a reception for the women and men religious of the diocese.  On Saturday, Aug.18, Bishop Malone will celebrate Mass and attend a reception at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora with permanent deacons, their wives, candidates to the permanent diaconate and their wives.

Broadcast and social media coverage of the installation Mass will be provided the week of Aug. 6.

EWTN coverage

MASS (SPECIAL - CATHEDRALS ACROSS AMERICA)

Wednesday  08/10/2012  at 2:30 PM

AND repeated

Thursday  08/11/2012 at 12:00 AM

Our Pastor is on The Way of St. James

28 July 2012 - I have made it to Santiago! It has been a long journey. I think I have hiked about 200km. Many of it has been very challenging. Today was not too bad because it was cool. There were more hills and valleys than some were telling me about. The church was getting ready for a wedding.
Buen Camino!

27 July 2012

Hi all I hope everyone is doing well. 

I have made it to Pedrouzo hiking 19 kms today. I left the last Albergue at about 7am after getting up at 5:45 am. Trying to change, pack and get ready in the dark is a real challenge. In the Albergue you share a room with 12-45 of your closest friends. Everyone leaves at a different time depending on how far you want to hike.  

What I have learned in the last few days is you need to make a reservation if you are able to for your next night stay. That means figuring how far do you think you will hike by 12noon or 1pm.  You want to be off the trail because of the sun and heat by then. In theory after it gets cooler you could hike longer but since you only have one change of clothes you stop around Noon take a shower, do laundry, and get something to eat.  Remember laudry is by hand and you find a clothes line to hang you clothes on. You need to do it early so it has time to dry

Today I had to find a room in a pensione which is a room basically in someone's home. I had a great conversation with the owner, he spoke little English, I speak little Spanish.  I found out there is mass tonight in Italian at a church near by.  I asked him about a good Italian restaurant and he told me there aremany great Galacian restaurants. I guess I will be eating local which has not been bad yet!  One thing about the food I have been eating in Spain is that they serve a lot of potatoes. They serve them with the squid, in an egg sandwich and the meat dishes. Who knew? 

Tomorrow I hope to make it to Santiago!   It is another 20 kms which is about 12.5 miles which should not be too difficult because there should not be too many hills and valleys. I will leave early to beat the heat. I would like to be there by noon.
Buen Camino

***
25 July 2012

I celebrated The feast of St James in Melide, Spain about 52km from Santiago. I hope to arrive in Santiago on Saturday. The camino has been very good for me. It challenges me physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  I am happy to miss Santiago with all the crowds.  Many stories to tell when I return.
Buen Camino!
Fr Joe Porpiglia

You might travel alone but you are never really alone. I had to work my way through these gifts of God. They were not always happy for my presence.  Even when they are not present they leave things behind to remind you that you are passing through and this is their home.

Church of Santi Spiritus in Melide, Spain.
Celebrated mass with many other pilgrims and locals
as we go to Santiago.

One marker of many that tell you how many KMs to Santiago.

First Post:
For centuries, Catholics have walked The Way of St. James (Santiago) de Compostela in Spain. 

Our Pastor, Fr. Joe, is presently walking The Way. As of this writing he is about 70 miles from the famous cathedral.  We will keep you updated as we hear from him.  Keep him in prayer on his pilgrimage.

Click here for information on The Way of St. James.

Click here for information on St. James, whose feast day we celebrate on July 25.

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

Year of Faith at St. Ben's

I encourage all our parishioners and visitors to participate in the Year of Faith activities we have planned at the parish.  The Year of Faith was called by Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.  (In case you are a non-Catholic reading this...Catholics love celebrating anniversaries, feast days and fast days. For us, time itself is holy!)

This is an opportunity for all of us to convert ourselves anew and rededicate ourselves to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Year of Faith officially begins in October.

Mr. Matthew Smith, our Director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry, has already planned four informative evenings to connect the Liturgical Seasons with the goals of the Year of Faith. 

You are encouraged to attend; more than that - you are encouraged to invite everyone you know!!  All four of them take place in our beautiful church and begin at 7pm.  They last about an hour.


Advent in a Year of Faith
Monday, December 3, 2012

Understanding the Mass in a Year of Faith
Monday, January 14, 2013

Lent in a Year of Faith
Monday, February 18th, 2013

Easter in a Year of Faith
Monday, April 22nd, 2013

We will have more parish activities to report as we continue to plan for this exciting year.  Please check our website often - www.saintbenedicts.com.  Don't forget that you can have future blog posts emailed to you simply by entering your email address in the upper right box marked "follow by email."

Click here for the Vatican website for the Year of Faith.