Bishop Mark celebrated the Institution to Ministry of Lector during Mass on September 21, 2024, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona.

The candidates who received the Rite of Lector are (Pictured left to right): Walter Zapotoczny, St. Joseph Parish-Bellwood, Brandon Solnosky, Cathedral of Blessed Sacrament-Altoona, John Fontana, Our Mother of Sorrows-Johnstown and Matthew Marafino, All Saints Parish-Boswell.

We pray for continued blessing to our candidates, their wives and families!

On August 25, 2024, Deacons from the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown held a fundraising event at St. Benedict Church in Johnstown, PA to help bring Fr. Anthony's mother and siblings here from India for a visit.

The India Cultural Awareness Dinner was an afternoon filled with authentic Indian cuisine and an opportunity to delve into the rich tapestry of Indian traditions with Fr. Antony. A goodwill offering was taken and over $10,000 was raised at the time of the event.

In a letter he had written thanking everyone for their time and donations Deacon John Roth who spearheaded this fundraiser had this to say about Fr. Anthony and the event. Read more

THE 'OTHER' PATRON SAINT FOR DEACONS

by Deacon Greg Kandra

It happens every year during ordination season. Newly ordained deacons receive gifts from family and friends-nicely wrapped boxes that contain stoles, medals, statues, icons or prayer cards depicting one of the two great saints of the diaconate, St. Stephen or St. Lawerence. Once in a while, someone might also share an image of another legendary deacon, St. Francis of Assisi. And that's about it.

But are we forgetting someone?

The fact is, there's another servant saint who is too often overlooked-and who, in fact, is hiding in plain sight. He stands before us every week when we attend Mass, and he is there every time the deacon assists at the altar. Read more

Article taken from The Deacon

Dachau and the Diaconate: My Father's Encounter

by Deacon John Lohrstorfer, Jr.

In April 29, 1945, a young 20-year-old, Pfc. John Lohrstorfer, was assigned as an artillery observer for the 232nd Infantry Regiment of the 42nd Infantry Division, nicknamed the “Rainbow Division.” As he was driving his captain near the vicinity of the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, they received a call to report to the camp immediately.

Dachau had been one of the first concentration camps established by the Nazis in 1933 for political prisoners. At one time, it housed over 160,000 prisoners and was later known for medical experimentation. Nothing prepared the young private for the horrors that he witnessed upon entering the camp. Thirty-two thousand surviving prisoners were severely malnourished, starving, diseased and sick. Four thousand bodies were found in a warehouse near a crematorium. They were stacked high like “cords of wood.” Two thousand bodies were found in nearby railroad cars.

Among all these suffering prisoners were hundreds of priests. Priests? Private Lohrstorfer’s first thought was, “What are priests doing in Dachau?” As he found out later, cellblocks 26 and 28 were known as Der Priesterblocks, which housed at one time as many as 2,500 priests, of which 1,000 had already been executed. The Polish chaplain assigned to his American military unit recognized a few names of the priests from his order back home! Read more

Article Taken from The Deacon

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