Peaceprints™ Prison Ministries, the organization that assists individuals in making the attitudinal and behavioral changes necessary to end criminal behavior and live productive crime-free lives, has hired James R. Haid as its new executive director.

Haid, who holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, Ind., and a master’s degree in theology from Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, most recently worked as the director of St. John’s Outreach Center in Lockport. There he grew the organization to the largest outreach center in Niagara County. In addition to providing more than 14,000 meals per month, it also provides food, clothes, furniture, appliances and hygiene products throughout the year. Haid also served as president and executive director of Lockport Cares, a home for the homeless, which he founded.
 

The presentation and veneration of the relics of St. Gianna Beretta Molla will take place the weekend of Sept. 11 and 12. St. Gianna is the patron of pro-life activities. This special event is sponsored by the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities and the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center, Buffalo.

A Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 9 a.m. at St. Louis Church, Edward and Main streets, Buffalo. Bishop Edward U. Kmiec, bishop of Buffalo, will be the celebrant. Later that day, there also will be a Mass at 4:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Pompeii Church, 158 Laverack Ave., Lancaster, as well as Masses on Sunday, Sept. 12, at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon.
 

Veritas, Unitas, Caritas. Truth, Unity and Charity are the major guideposts that have shaped Villa Maria College over the past 50 years. These characteristics will continue to be beacons for the college on its journey of growth, education and service.
Villa Maria College will celebrate 50 years as a college in 2011, and will begin its celebration with a liturgy on Sept. 26.

“Our mission is to provide quality education in the Franciscan and Felician spirit of Catholic higher education,” said Sister Marcella Marie Garus, CSSF, president of Villa Maria College. “We’ve been faithful to our mission. If the founders were here today, they would still recognize it, but they would also be proud of our progress.”

ALLEGANY — Four postulants from Holy Name Province spent their first months in the Province at St. Bonaventure University participating in the summer program of the Franciscan Institute and experiencing varied aspects of Franciscan life.

John Aherne, Father Pedro Corces, Frank Souza and Jeffrey Upshaw began their studies in late June, according to postulant director Father Ronald Pecci, OFM. The program, which focuses on the life of St. Francis and early Franciscan history, included workshops given by friars specifically for the postulants.

Christ the King Seminary will be piloting a Distance Learning program for two of its Continuing Education classes during the Fall 2010 semester. The new program is intended to provide more options to help students access the Seminary’s courses in the manner most convenient to their lifestyle and needs. Students who register to take either “Theology of God” (Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m. beginning September 14) or “The Gospels” (Thursdays, 7-9 p.m. beginning September 16) will be given the option of taking the class at the Seminary’s East Aurora campus or taking it via video-conferencing technology at Canisius College or St. Bonaventure University. Plans also include expanding the pilot program to include Niagara University for the Spring 2011 semester. No matter where the student takes the course, it will be a live and interactive experience, facilitated by two-way communication with the instructor.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Mother Teresa, two Buffalo landmarks were lit in blue and white on the evening of August 26.  The colors symbolize the Missionaries of Charity, the order of women religious founded by the woman who is now being promoted for sainthood by the Vatican.

The Electric Tower is located in the heart of downtown Buffalo.	The Peace Bridge spans the Niagara River from the U.S. to Canada, connecting Buffalo to Fort Erie.

Iskalo Development’s Electric Tower in downtown Buffalo has joined the Peace Bridge in honoring Blessed Mother Teresa on the evening of August 26 to mark the 100th anniversary of her birth. The downtown landmark will be illuminated in blue and white, the colors of Blessed Mother Teresa’s order of women religious, the Missionaries of Charity.

“Iskalo Development is pleased to illuminate the Electric Tower in blue and white in honor of the 100th birthday of Blessed Mother Teresa, as requested by the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo,” said Paul B. Iskalo, president and CEO, Iskalo Development Corp. “Mother Teresa’s lifelong acts of devotion and kindness affected and influenced people of all countries and faiths, and her legacy transcends the secular.”
 

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced that the full text of the English-language translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America.

The text was approved by the Vatican, and the approval was accompanied by a June 23 letter from Cardinal Llovera Antonio Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Congregation also provided guidelines for publication.

In a major move to address a growing heart disease problem in Niagara County, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital and Health Center will collaborate with Catholic Health’s Heart Center at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo to invest $7.9 million and construct a cardiac catheterization laboratory on the campus of the Lewiston hospital. This will be the only such facility in Niagara County to provide cardiac catheterization and coronary angioplasty procedures.

The two organizations announced today that two integrated Certificate of Need (CON) applications have been filed with the New York State Department of Health. Construction would begin immediately after they have both been approved.
 

With the start of the new school year right around the corner, Catholic elementary school teachers are not only busy preparing their classrooms, they are engaged in professional development as well.

During the week of August 17, the diocesan Department of Catholic Schools hosted a number of workshops, ranging from brain-based learning to using learning centers in the classroom.