Chronologically Buffalo's third Polish Catholic parish, Assumption was founded to serve the then-newly established Polish enclave in the eastern part of the Black Rock neighborhood, who felt unwelcome at the predominantly-German St. Francis Xavier and for whom the established parishes of St. Stanislaus and St. Adalbert were too distant. The interior features a painted wood ceiling and original artwork by Hungarian-born artist József Varga,[3] and is also the site of the earliest American examples of the sgraffito work of Polish-born muralist Józef Sławiński, executed in 1960.[4] Became home to the congregations of the former St. Elizabeth, St. Francis Xavier, and St. John the Baptist parishes upon their 2007 dissolution as part of the "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program, leaving Assumption the only remaining Catholic church in Black Rock.[5]
Adolphus Druiding (original structure); Albert A. Post (1908 enlargement)
Began as a chapel built in 1885 connected to new bishop's residence; services held there were well attended especially by German-Americans from the nearby neighborhood of Cold Spring who had no nearby Catholic church to attend; was made a parish in its own right two years later.[3] Building was slated for a second expansion in 1912 when diocese announced plans to build new cathedral on adjacent lot,[6] to accommodate which the building was lifted from its foundation and rolled 200 feet backward from its original position next to the street; at the time the largest brick church in the U.S. to ever be physically moved. Church is Gothic Revival in style and built of brick and Medina sandstone; interior contains stained glass windows crafted in Innsbruck as well as a pair of altars imported from Italy; one of marble salvaged from then-recently demolished Church of San Salvatore in Thermis, blessed in 590 AD by Pope Gregory the Great and containing a number of relics including pieces of the Holy Cross; the other dating to the 17th century and sourced from the chapel of a church in Rome.[7] Parish dissolved upon completion of new cathedral in 1915 with church building serving as its chapel; reconstituted upon cathedral's demolition.[8]
Originally a mixed Irish and German congregation in a neighborhood then known as the Jammerthal ("valley of woe", so named for its rocky, impossible-to-cultivate soil), Blessed Trinity is most notable for its architecture, having been described as "the finest example of Lombard Romanesque architecture in North America",[9] with multicolored brickwork, exquisite terra cotta ornamentation including 572 decorative corbels depicting "the vices, virtues, graces, sacraments and commandments of the Catholic faith", and an overall design inspired by Pavia Cathedral and the Church of St. Trophime in Arles.[3] Accordingly, it was named a Buffalo city landmark in 1977[10] and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[11]
Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
374 Dewitt St.
1950
1956
Mortimer J. Murphy
Upper West Side parish whose territory was cleaved off that of Annunciation and Nativity; congregation met for six years in the former Ellen Terry Theatre on Grant Street before the dedication of their current church building.[3] Spared from the spate of mergers that characterized the early-2000s "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program due to its status as home of Western New York's Vietnamese Catholic community; Mass is still held in both Vietnamese and English.[12]
The seventh of what would ultimately be fourteen Catholic churches serving Buffalo's Polish-American community, founded due to the rapid population growth in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood in the late 19th and early 20th century; however, Corpus Christi's growth stalled in 1929, when 300 homes within the parish's boundaries were demolished to make way for the massive New York Central Terminal.[3] Architecturally, the building is a fine example of Rundbogenstil-influenced Romanesque Revival architecture constructed with Hummelstown brownstone, but is most notable for the exquisite art and statuary in its interior: stained glass windows by Franz Mayer & Co. depicting Polish saints; six fresco paintings on the wall of the clerestory depicting Marian shrines in Poland; a reproduction of Raphael's Disputation of the Holy Sacrament in the semidome of the apse. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007[13] and is also a contributing property to the locally-landmarked Broadway-Fillmore Historic District, established in 2018.[10]
Holy Cross
140 7th St.
1914
1915; enlarged 1931 and 1938
Pascal Cimini, George Dietel (1938 expansion)
Parish founded due to northward expansion of Buffalo's West Side Italian-American community; congregation met in former home of West Side Presbyterian Church on Busti Avenue while present church was under construction on a plot of land formerly owned by the Sisters of Mercy. Church sports Gothic design elements typical of the architecture of the era;[14] was dedicated by Father Nelson Baker. 1930s-era expansions to building increased its capacity to 1,200 parishioners. Interior features numerous statues of the Madonna, many brought by immigrants from their former churches in Italy, as well as mural paintings by artist Luigi Avoglio.[3]
Holy Spirit
85 Dakota St.
1910
1930
Edward J. Trautman
First parish to serve North Park section of city; congregation remained small initially, though shrine to Saint Rita installed in 1913 made it a notable local pilgrimage site; growth began in earnest at outbreak of First World War due to increased production at nearby automobile and airplane factories connected to war effort. Original frame church sold to Methodist congregation, who moved it to the corner of Delaware Avenue and Wilbury Place[3] (still extant, now home to New Freedom Assembly of God);[15] current building is Modernist in style with simplified Gothic Revival detailing. Linked with St. Margaret church in 2012 after retirement of the latter's priest; both remain independent parishes but now share the same priest.[16]
Our Lady of Charity
1901 S. Park Ave. (Holy Family site), 260 Okell St. (St. Ambrose site and parish office)
Parish founded in 2010 from the merger of three South Buffalo parishes: Holy Family, St. Ambrose, and St. Agatha. Both of the former churches are still used for services; the St. Agatha complex was used by the parish for various purposes and once housed a Head Start preschool, but was sold to a private developer in 2018.[18]
Our Lady of Hope
18 Greenwood Pl.
2009
1901 (as home of predecessor parish Annunciation)
Albert A. Post
Formed from merger of three West Side parishes: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Loretto, and Annunciation. The parish conducts services out of the latter's Gothic Revival former home.[19]
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
115 O'Connell St.
1897
1900
Lansing & Beierl
The third chronologically, and only remaining, Catholic parish in Buffalo's Old First Ward, carved out of the territory of St. Brigid and St. Stephen parishes due to persistent population growth in this working-class Irish-American community; many early parishioners worked as scoopers at the nearby grain elevators. Nicknamed "Pet's". Was for many years the traditional endpoint of Buffalo's St. Patrick's Day parade, as well as the first (temporary) home to Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School from 1946-48.[20] A magnificent Gothic Revival building faced in Medina sandstone, with a cruciform floor plan and an imposing but steepleless tower on the west side of the façade (the original design called for one, but it was never completed).[3]
St. Anthony of Padua
160 Court St.
1888
1891; enlarged 1904
Michael Sheehan
First Italian Catholic church in Buffalo, serving a community that began arriving in the 1870s, attracted by employment opportunities in waterfront industries on the Lower West Side of the city. The parish became the social center of the local Italian diaspora, and still hosts one Italian-language Sunday Mass a week.[21] The Romanesque Revival style of the exterior contrasts with a Renaissance-inspired interior featuring fresco paintings and marble work by notable ecclesiastical decorator Cesari Antozzi.[3]
St. Bernard
1990 Clinton St.
1907
1954
Mortimer J. Murphy
The newer of the two parishes established in the Kaisertown neighborhood, which began as a tight-knit Polish community centered around St. Casimir church but quickly became German-majority (hence the name); St. Bernard was founded to serve the latter ethnicity. Church is Gothic Revival in style and built of Ohio sandstone accented with Indiana limestone.[3] Diocese's 2011 announcement that both St. Bernard and St. Casimir would dissolve and the congregations would fold into Our Lady of Czestochowa in Cheektowaga was partially reversed upon appeal, whereupon Bishop Kmiec decreed that St. Bernard could stay open on an interim basis pending payoff of the parish's debts and would absorb St. Casimir's congregation. However, in 2015, due to a shortage of priests, parish was "linked" with Our Lady of Czestochowa; both remain independent entities but share the same pastor.[22]
St. Casimir
160 Cable St.
1890
1929
Oakley & Schallmo
Parish served initially small and isolated Polish community along Clinton Street near the city line which began to grow rapidly after turn of century; original frame church replaced consecutively by larger one in 1908 and even larger current building for which ground was broken in 1926; Byzantine Revival design inspired by Rev. Anthony Majewski's travels to the Near East and desire for church architecturally unlike any other in the diocese. Brightly-colored façade features ornate terra cotta detailing by associate architect Joseph Fronczak: relief sculpture above entrance depicting Saint Casimir distributing alms to the needy, painted statues of Saints Adalbert and Hyacinth below deeply recessed rose window, Christ the King flanked by angels at top of front gable;[23] interior contains hand-carved statues of Twelve Apostles placed atop monumental columns and Botticino marble altar crowned by 65-foot arch.[3] Merged with St. Bernard as part of 2000s-'10s parish consolidation program, and was used as an oratory "providing for the spiritual care... particularly those of Polish descent" within the congregation.[24] Named a Buffalo city landmark in 1977.[10] It was designated as a free-standing church within the diocese of Buffalo in 2011.[25]
Founded through the merger of St. Columba and St. Brigid parishes, the latter of whose church had burned in a 1968 fire; the merged parish met in the former St. Columba church until it, too, burned in 2004. Began sharing ministry team and pooling resources with St. Ann and St. Mary of Sorrows in 1992 as part of reorganization of "central city" parishes[28] before ultimately absorbing both.[29] Their current home is the newest Catholic church building in Buffalo; its construction was controversial given the then-ongoing trend of church closures and parish mergers throughout the city, leaving many architecturally significant buildings vacant and at risk of demolition. The merged SS. Columba-Brigid is notable as the home parish of Sister Karen Klimczak,[30] co-founder of the Bissonnette House, a halfway home for former prisoners named after a Buffalo priest who was murdered by a vagrant in 1987, and who was herself murdered in 2006 by one of the house's residents.[31]
St. John Kanty
101 Swinburne St.
1890
1893
unknown
Founded in response to the eastward expansion of Buffalo's East Side Polish-American district; those parishioners who lived in outlying areas had to navigate an at-grade crossing of the busiest railroad line in Buffalo on their way to Mass at St. Stanislaus or St. Adalbert's Basilica, which caused many deaths in the years before the church was founded. Congregation still worships in their original building which was once the social center of the Broadway-Bailey neighborhood; the enormous complex included not only space for worship but also a school, bowling alleys, a gymnasium, and a concert hall where big bands played regularly. It survived fires in 1948 and 1955, the latter a devastating three-alarm blaze that nearly destroyed the building but spared the centerpiece of the church's interior, a life-size carving of the Last Supper that was originally intended for the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Montreal. Interior was completely reconstructed following the 1955 fire and is now Modernist in appearance, in stark contrast to the Gothic Revival exterior.[3]
Founded in 1847 along with the Diocese of Buffalo itself, which was cleaved off the western portion of the territory of the Archdiocese of New York; construction work began in 1851 after Bishop John Timon's request to use St. Louis as the cathedral church was rebuffed on ethnic grounds (St. Louis's congregation was majority German-American, Timon of Irish descent), and concluded 1863. The building sports a French Gothic-influenced style; its carillon was produced by Bollée Brothers of France and was once considered among the world's best; the interior dates to a 1977 renovation and contains a 3,627-pipe Hook & Hastings organ originally displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Basement crypt serves as the final resting place of Bishop Timon as well as three of his successors in that office: Stephen Ryan, Charles Colton,[3] and Edward Head.[32] The building lost its title as seat of the Diocese in 1915 with the construction of the new cathedral on Delaware Avenue but regained it in 1976, when the latter church was demolished.[20] St. Joseph is a contributing property to the locally-landmarkedJoseph Ellicott Historic District, established in 1982.[10]
St. Joseph University Parish
3269 Main St.
1849
1926
Bley & Lyman
One of the oldest parishes in Buffalo despite its location far from downtown in what was initially the rural hamlet of Elyville; congregation in its early years comprised farmers largely of French and German extraction, and was led alternately by Jesuits who travelled to the parish from St. Michael, itinerant Redemptorist preachers from the North Bush chapel in present-day Tonawanda (including for a time the future Saint John Neumann), and generally a revolving door of ministers at a rate of a new one every couple of years.[6] Stability and growth came with urbanization, the first signs of which began to appear at the end of the 19th century; original wood-framed country church was replaced in 1894 with a larger brick structure, and that in turn with the present building.[3] Church sports a magnificent Norman Gothic Revival design;[33] interior sanctuary is decorated with mural paintings of the life of St. Joseph executed in 1968 by artist George Raggi; altarpiece and statuary imported from Pietrasanta, Italy.[34] Known locally for the diversity of its congregation and, relative to other area Catholic churches, its inclusive atmosphere.[35]
St. Katharine Drexel
133 N. Ogden St.
2007
1960 (as home of predecessor parish St. Francis of Assisi)
Parish formed under the auspices of the "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program from the merger of St. Agnes, Visitation, and St. Francis of Assisi, using the church building formerly belonging to the latter parish.[36]
The earliest Catholic church in Buffalo; given its current name in 1843 after the parish split along ethnic lines (thus giving rise to a longstanding tradition in the Buffalo diocese), with St. Patrick's (Irish), St. Mary Redemptorist (German), and St. Peter's French Church (later Our Lady of Lourdes) seceding during that decade. The current Gothic-style, Medina sandstone building is the third to house the church, completed in 1889; it's most notable for its spire, rising 245 feet above the ground and with a design inspired by those of Cologne Cathedral in Germany, it's reputed to be the tallest open-work spire ever built of unreinforced stone, and the tallest ever built in the United States.[37] The interior contains a Seth Thomas clock donated by Elbridge Gerry Spaulding, a 1903 Kimball organ that was previously housed in the Temple of Music during the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, a marble altarpiece carved by the Lautz Marble Works featuring a life-size statue of Saint Louis IX of France, and stained glass by both the Royal Munich Art Institute and the Reister & Frohe company of Buffalo.[3] The church was named a Buffalo city landmark in 1978[10] and is also a contributing property to the National Register of Historic Places-listed Allentown Historic District, established in 1980.[38]
St. Margaret
1395 Hertel Ave.
1916
1958
Mortimer J. Murphy
Bishop Dennis Dougherty named the parish in honor of the late Margaret Bingham, sister of the previous bishop Charles Colton, fulfilling the latter's wishes. Current (third) church building dates to 1958[3] and was designed in a simplified Gothic Revival style with Modernist influences. Predecessor church, erected 1919, was renovated with a Modernist façade upon construction of the current one and housed the parochial school until its closure in 2012; it's now a luxury apartment building, dubbed The Cornelius. Statuary on church grounds depicts Madonna and child as well as Padre Pio of Pietralcina, who is also honored with a small chapel at the east end of the narthex. Stained glass is the work of Jozef Mazur.[39] Linked with Holy Spirit church in 2012; both remain independent parishes but now share the same priest.[16]
Parish serves Parkside neighborhood and is a contributing property to National Register of Historic Places-listed Parkside East Historic District.[40] Most notable for its architecture; built of Indiana limestone; simplified Gothic Revival design is reminiscent of 15th-century English parish churches. Open, pillarless floor plan in nave, with decorative tile flooring and wainscoting.[41] Linked with St. Rose of Lima church in 2010 as part of diocesan consolidation program; both remain independent parishes but now share the same priest.[42] School remains in operation and ranks among top-rated private elementary schools in Western New York.[43]
St. Martin de Porres
555 Northampton St.
1993
2000
Founded as a merger of the four defunct parishes of Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Boniface, St. Benedict the Moor, and St. Matthew, St. Martin de Porres is the only Catholic church in the Buffalo diocese with a majority-black congregation, and one of only 50 such churches in the United States. The church has its own gospel choir, and its Parish Center is planned to be the future home of the Buffalo African-American Catholic Gospel Music Resource and Recording Center.[44]
St. Martin of Tours
1130 Abbott Rd.
1926
1958
Backus, Crane & Love
Church built on a plot of land given to the diocese by the Kinsey Real Estate Company free of charge on the condition that they use it for that purpose, then a common tactic among developers seeking to attract home buyers to newly urbanizing neighborhoods.[3] In 2008, as part of the "Journey in Faith and Grace" restructuring program, the diocese "linked" St. Martin of Tours with St. Thomas Aquinas; they remain independent parishes but now share a pastor.[45]
Founded by an Alsatian faction that seceded from St. Louis due to dispute over parish finances; church was built on a site that had earlier been considered for the construction of St. Joseph's Cathedral and was operated by the Jesuits, who established Canisius College there in 1870. Building is Romanesque in style,[6] built with a basilica-style floor plan using locally quarried sandstone and limestone. The interior was completely reconstructed after a 1963 fire caused by a lightning strike to the tower[46] and now features a sanctuary with a Modernist-style crucifix and various statuary depicting Saint Michael the Archangel.[47]
St. Rose of Lima
500 Parker Ave.
1926
1965
Leroy H. Welch
Founded due to increased urbanization in the western portion of the North Park neighborhood and long distance to other Catholic churches. Upon completion of current church, original 1926 building was repurposed as the parochial school,[3] which closed in 2007;[48] Carmelite nuns also had a convent on the property. Linked with St. Mark church in 2010 as part of diocesan consolidation program; both remain independent parishes but now share the same priest.[42] Most notable for its architecture, belonging to the New Formalist school, wherein traditional elements of church design (T-shaped floor plan, tower, stained glass) are reinterpreted according to Modernist aesthetics. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.[49]
Known as the "Mother Church of Polonia", founded by developer Joseph Bork for explicit purpose of attracting a Polish-American community to Buffalo; Rev. Jan Pitass was recruited as Buffalo's first Polish-speaking priest. Was the first of fourteen Polish Catholic parishes in Buffalo, seven of which were located in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood,[3] and had become the largest in the country by 1905, with nearly 20,000 members and 2,000 students in the parochial school.[50] Church built in Romanesque Revival style of locally-quarried flint and limestone; twin steeples rise to a height of 120 feet; statues above buttresses date to 1910[51] and depict Saints Adalbert of Prague, Hyacinth of Poland, and Matthew the Apostle. Interior is richly decorated with statuary and mural paintings.[52] and contains a restored 1893 Johnson pipe organ.[53]
St. Teresa
1970 Seneca St.
1897
1900; enlarged 1926
Albert A. Post
The first Catholic church in the city south of the Buffalo River, established in the wake of a building boom touched off by real estate speculator William Fitzpatrick and catering to a new Irish-American middle class who sought to escape the crowded and crime-ridden conditions of established Irish neighborhoods closer to downtown. Fitzpatrick offered his own home for use as the rectory; it was moved from its original location at the corner of Bailey Avenue.[3] Church is built of rock-faced Medina sandstone in the Late Victorian Gothic style, with the Queen Anne-style rectory and International-style parish hall providing interesting architectural contrast. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.[54]
St. Thomas Aquinas
450 Abbott Rd.
1920
1949
Stickle, Kelly & Stickle
Parish founded concurrently with South Buffalo's growth as a streetcar suburb, with an Irish-American congregation originally.[3] Most notable for its architecture: church's Umbrian Romanesque design was inspired by that of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, with a façade of pink, orange and white Tennessee quartzite, a red tile roof, and arcaded cloisters connecting it to the campanile and rectory; those buildings as well as former school surround a courtyard with an outdoor altar and a statue of Saint Thomas Aquinas sculpted by artist Julia Porcelli. Interior contains large mosaic mural of Saints Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.[55] In 2008, as part of the "Journey in Faith and Grace" restructuring program, the diocese "linked" St. Thomas Aquinas with St. Martin of Tours; they remain independent parishes but now share a pastor.[45]
Original church destroyed by fire in March 1913; services were held in the basement of the parochial school until the current Colonial Revival-style building was complete.[3] The church contains a 1923 Wurlitzer Organ gifted by Ellsworth Statler; it had earlier been installed in the golden ballroom of the Hotel Statler in downtown Buffalo.[56] The parish closed in July of 2024.[57]
Annunciation
18 Greenwood Pl.
1885
1901
Albert A. Post
2009
The first of what would ultimately be three Roman Catholic parishes on Buffalo's Upper West Side, Annunciation was founded at a time when the neighborhood was only just beginning to urbanize, and in turn its foundation led to the coalescence of a sizable Irish-American community in its environs.[3] With time, the parish's ethnic constitution evolved from Irish-majority to Italian to Hispanic. Merged in 2009 with the neighboring parishes of Our Lady of Loretto and Nativity under the new name Our Lady of Hope, which continues to meet in Annunciation's former home.[19] The former parochial school building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[58]
One of Buffalo's earliest Catholic parishes, established by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate to serve as the parish church connected to the new Catholic College of Buffalo, a seminary for the training of priests. The building was repeatedly enlarged and altered over the years: the transept, sanctuary, and choir were added in 1874, the chapel on the west side of the building facing Fargo Avenue in 1894, and the interior was redesigned in 1898 and again in 1953, with hand-carved Stations of the Cross imported from Switzerland and new stained-glass windows depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary and Marian apparitions, respectively, added at those times. The parish population began to decline in the 1960s, and,[3] citing financial difficulties, the Diocese of Buffalo closed the church in July 2020 and merged the parish with Holy Cross on Maryland Street and Our Lady of Hope on Greenwood Place.[59]
Holy Apostles SS. Peter & Paul
807 Clinton St.
1909
1909
Schmill & Gould
2007
Parish initially served an East Side Polish-American community employed principally in the factories of the Larkin Soap Company as well as in the stockyards. Colonial-style church was reconstructed after severe damage caused by a December 1921 fire; was the only wooden building in Buffalo in use as a Catholic church at the time of the parish's dissolution[3] due to merger with St. Valentine, St. Stephen, Precious Blood, and SS. Rita and Patrick.[5] Currently headquarters of Peaceprints Prison Ministries.[60]
Holy Family
1901 South Park Ave.
1902
1908
Lansing & Beierl
2010
Parish founded due to rapid population growth in South Buffalo connected with the opening of the Lackawanna Steel Plant just south of the city line.[citation needed] Described as one of the finest examples of Romanesque Revival church architecture in Buffalo; the interior murals (the work of Danish artist Holvag Rambusch) depict scenes from the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels, reflective of the traditionally Irish-American ethnic makeup of the congregation, while the sanctuary windows came from the Tiroler Glasmalerei company of Innsbruck.[3] Merged with St. Ambrose and St. Agatha under the auspices of the diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program to form the new Our Lady of Charity parish;[17] the building still hosts two Sunday masses a week as well as midweek Masses on Monday and Friday.[61]
Holy Name of Jesus
1947 Bailey Ave.
1887
1905
Cyrus K. Porter & Son
2005
Parish served a community of German-Americans, bilingual in English and their native language[6] and largely employed by the railroads that crisscrossed this part of the East Side; original wood-framed church was repurposed for use as parochial school upon completion of the present building and served as such until construction of present school building (1913). Church is in Gothic style, built of St. Lawrence granite and undressed ashlar; steeple atop tower at north end of main façade was removed c. 2009.[62] Interior is intimately proportioned and features a stained glass window in the loft depicting the Holy Family.[3] Parish was one of the first to be dissolved in the diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program. Now home of New Life Harvest Church of God in Christ.[63]
Land donated to diocese in 1839 by heirs of prominent citizen Louis LeCouteulx de Caumont () for establishment of an English-speaking parish for the city's Irish-American community; that parish (Old St. Patrick's) was instead sited downtown whereupon property reverted to ownership of LeCouteulx's heirs per terms of donation; diocese regained ownership in 1849 whereupon parish was finally established.[3] Small wood frame church was replaced with larger brick building in 1856 and in turn with present Gothic-style building.[6] Church closed in 2005 due to declining enrollment simultaneously with, but unrelated to, diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" parish consolidation program.[64] Now undergoing conversion to Assembly House 150, a "for-profit design and building studio that will help foster a new crop of buildings in the city".[65] Building is a contributing property to the National Register of Historic Places-listed Allentown Historic District, established in 1980.[38]
Parish founded to serve the residents of the new Langfield Homes, a public housing project that was erected in the 1940s in the Far East Side on some of the last remaining vacant land in the city[67] and intended as housing for workers in World War II-related industries and, later, for returning veterans and their families. Modernist-style building originally served function of both worship space and social hall;[3] school building next door built in 1950.[68] A rather short-lived parish by diocesan standards; by 2006, three years before the parish's merger with neighboring St. Aloysius Gonzaga in Cheektowaga as part of the final phase of the diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program, parish population had dwindled to only 160 families.[69] Now Greater Faith Bible Tabernacle, a Pentecostal church with a mostly black congregation.[70]
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
228 Albany St.
1898
1901
Albert A. Post
2009
Parish founded due to continued population growth on Buffalo's Upper West Side; congregation was initially made up largely of members of newly minted Irish-American middle class relocated from cramped and squalid environs of the First Ward, Buffalo's traditional Irish enclave; as the 20th century wore on, the congregation, along with the neighborhood as a whole, became Italian-majority and later Hispanic. Church is built of Medina sandstone and "controls its corner site with its Gothic exuberance", with notable trefoil patterns in the tracery of the windows above the entrances.[3] Interior once contained an 1853 Hall & Labaugh organ, among the oldest of any church in Buffalo, originally owned by a parish in Yonkers and reinstalled in Buffalo in 1911.[71] As part of diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" program, merged with Our Lady of Loretto and Annunciation to form the new Our Lady of Hope parish, which meets in the latter's former church.[19]
Our Lady of Loretto
158 15th St.
1924
1951
Chester Oakley
2009
Parish founded in response to the announcement of a new Presbyterian mission church nearby, which the Buffalo Diocese feared would make inroads among the heavily Catholic Italian community on the West Side of the city. The congregation met in the former Bethany Presbyterian Church until 1949, whereupon construction of the current building began.[3] Our Lady of Loretto merged in 2009 with Nativity and Annunciation parishes, taking on the name Our Lady of Hope, which continues in existence in the former home of the latter.[19] Church building is the final major work of noted Buffalo ecclesiastical architect Chester Oakley,[72] executed in a Modernist style with some elements of late-period Art Deco ornamentation. Occupying the building today is Destiny Church International, a Pentecostal church with a majority-Hispanic congregation.
Our Lady of Lourdes
1109 Main St.
1850 (as St. Peter's French Catholic Church)
1900
A. E. Minks & Sons
1993
Founded as one of the four daughter congregations of Lamb of God, Buffalo's first Catholic parish; worshiped in several sites downtown before constructing the Main Street church, whereupon they took on their ultimate name.[3] Built of Medina sandstone in a style described as "a happy blending of the Romanesque and Renaissance, the Romanesque largely prevailing" and with a relative paucity of exterior ornamentation; inside was initially similarly austere[73] but later sported mural paintings by Italian artist Carlo Antonia Nisita. Owing to the small size of Buffalo's Franco-American community, congregation never grew to match the ample size of their building as many others of the era did; much of its excess space ended up being used for social and athletic facilities open to neighborhood residents, including basketball courts, event space, and a bowling alley.[74] Parish merged with St. Matthew, St. Boniface, and St. Benedict the Moor under the name St. Martin de Porres.[44] The building is currently being remodeled by Ellicott Development into a mix of retail, restaurant, office and residential space.[75]
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
No image available
41 Fly St.
1906
1906
unknown
1949
Combination church/school building also contained living space for clergy, lacking a separate rectory;[6] served the poor Sicilian immigrant population of the Canal District, a notorious slum; nonetheless, parade and festival held annually in July on feast of parish's namesake was locally renowned tradition. Parish population peaked at about 1,000 in the 1920s[76] but then declined as those neighborhood residents who could afford better housing began to leave for the Lower West Side; natural gas explosion in 1936 brought local government's attention to poor living conditions in tenements, accelerating exodus from Canal District. Only 90 families remained in parish at the time of its dissolution, immediately following which the church along with the rest of the neighborhood was demolished in what was reputedly one of the first slum clearance schemes in the U.S.[77] The Marine Drive Apartments occupy the site today.
Precious Blood
145 Lewis St.
1898
1899
Albert A. Post
2007
Gothic Revival church building once contained a mural of Christ the King painted in the 1920s by ecclesiastical artist Jozef Mazur on the semidome of the apse. Parish initially comprised a community of mostly Irish- and German-Americans working in the Jacob Dold Packing Plant and similar businesses around the Buffalo stockyards, but was Polish-majority by c. 1910 as that ethnicity came to dominate the meatpacking industry.[3] The Felician Franciscan Sisters were in charge of the school, and a convent was built for them on the property in 1964.[78] The parish merged in 2007 with St. Valentine, St. Stephen, Holy Apostles SS. Peter and Paul, and SS. Rita and Patrick and vacated the building at that time.[5] Now home to an African-American Baptist congregation.[15]
Queen of Peace
1955 Genesee St.
1920
1928
Dietel & Wade
2007
Parish originally served a Polish-American community that, in the years immediately after World War I, had migrated north from the city's main Polish enclave in Broadway-Fillmore. Notable for its architecture; building is in Late Gothic Revival style[79] with a façade of Ohio sandstone accented with Indiana limestone and a floor plan unlike any other Catholic church in Buffalo; a cross-shaped, multipurpose structure encompassing a rectory to the west, a school building to the east, and the worship space itself extending north-to-south between them.[3] Interior once decorated with mural paintings by Jozef Mazur, now painted over.[80] Parish dissolved in wake of the diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" parish consolidation program; was purchased in 2009 and is now a mosque and Islamic community center; Jesuit-run parochial school on site remained open for some time thereafter.[81]
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
1040 Sycamore St.
1913
1917
Władysław Zawadzki
1993
Parish was established by the Buffalo Diocese as a pretext to acquiring the church building formerly belonging to Holy Mother of the Rosary at a foreclosure auction; they were a renegade "independent Catholic" church that, due to longstanding disagreements within the congregation of St. Adalbert, seceded in 1895 not only from the parish but from the Diocese itself; they later aligned with the Polish National Catholic Church. Current building was constructed after Holy Mother of the Rosary won its church back in a subsequent lawsuit.[3] Architecturally, the building is an example of Zawadzki's signature quasi-French Renaissance style[82] with some Gothic Revival elements added.[83] After the parish's 1993 merger with St. Adalbert's Basilica, the building was purchased by Darul Uloom Al-Madania Islamic Seminary for use as its girls' school, known as Darul Rasheed; ironically, they also own the original Holy Mother of the Rosary building too, which is now their mosque.
Sacred Heart
200 Emslie St.
1875
1915
Schmill & Gould
1973
Parish originally served German-American community that had gathered in the Hydraulics neighborhood; worshiped initially in various temporary locations then built a church on Seneca Street in what later became the midst of the Larkin Soap Company's factory complex. Larkin purchased original church in 1912 to facilitate expansion of their operations, whereupon it was vacated by the congregation.[3] Present church built of brick and Ohio sandstone[6] in the Late Gothic Revival style with an imposing tripartite clerestory; complex also included a school, rectory, and Franciscan convent surrounding a courtyard.[84] After parish dissolution, served variously as home to a Ukrainian Orthodox church and Witness Cathedral of Faith; now vacant.[85] School and rectory demolished in 2008 and 2017 respectively; convent and church still extant as of 2019 but at risk of demolition by neglect.[86]
Second Polish Catholic parish in Buffalo, founded due to overcrowding at St. Stanislaus. Originally envisioned as center of master-planned community including a park, home for the aged, and immigration house; plan abandoned when original church burned down. Infighting among parishioners in 1880s and '90s led to high turnover of pastors and schism leading to foundation of "independent Catholic" parish Holy Mother of the Rosary, later affiliated with Polish National Catholic Church.[3] First church in the United States to be named a basilica (1907). Present church sports Romanesque and Byzantine influences and was largest in Buffalo at the time of its construction. Interior decorated with murals by Jozef Mazur[87] completed in 1925, many of which were removed in a 1976 renovation, as well as stained glass by Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich.[88] Parish merged with St. John Kanty and is now used by them as an oratory.[89]
St. Agatha
65 Abbott Rd.
1909 (as All Souls)
1956
Mortimer J. Murphy
2010
Parish originally known as All Souls; founded to serve the Italian-American community that had coalesced in the western part of the Triangle neighborhood near the railroads where many of them worked, though by 1917 it had become Irish-majority.[90] Original wood-frame church at the corner of Germania and Mystic Streets suffered damage in June 1920 when the floor caved in under the weight of the parishioners at a particularly well-attended Sunday Mass; the congregation was temporarily disbanded pending repairs and was renamed St. Agatha upon its reopening the following year. Austere design of the 1956 combination church/school is owed to the fact that the parish was traditionally small and did not have the need for, nor the financial resources to support, a large and extravagant building such as many parishes in Buffalo had at the time.[3] Merged with Holy Family and St. Ambrose to form the new Our Lady of Charity parish,[17] who later sold the building to developer Sam Savarino. As of 2018, the building is proposed to be converted into apartments, offices, or educational or performing arts space.[18]
The first of what were ultimately three parishes in the neighborhood of Lovejoy, initially serving a mixed German and Irish community attracted to the area by availability of jobs on the railroad; Irish parishioners seceded in 1898 to found Visitation parish. Congregation became majority-Italian after World War II. Church is Romanesque Revival in style[3] and one of few ever to have been designed by the otherwise prolific local firm of Esenwein & Johnson. Stained glass installed 1919-1921 was the work of Otto F. Andrle; six mural paintings by D'Arcangelo Studios once adorned the interior, five of which were removed in 1985. Parish merged with Visitation and St. Francis of Assisi to form the new St. Katharine Drexel parish, which meets in the latter's former home on North Ogden Street.[36] Now a Buddhist temple owned by the International Sangha Bhiksu Buddhist Association.[91]
St. Ambrose
260 Okell St.
1930
1950
Foit & Baschnagel
2010
Established from the southern part of the territory of Holy Family parish; the modest frame church constructed on the site was not replaced with a permanent structure until 1950, due to the economic hardship of the Great Depression and supplies rationing during World War II.[3] The building was designed in a Modernist style and is most notable for its stained glass, created in 1992 by local artist Russell Vacanti; its imagery was inspired by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and deals with themes such as socioeconomic justice, gun violence, drug abuse, interfaith relations, and others not typically seen in stained glass art. Merged with Holy Family and St. Agatha under the auspices of the diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program to form the new Our Lady of Charity parish;[17] the building still hosts two Sunday masses a week, as well as Saturday evening vigil and midweek Masses on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.[61]
St. Ann
651 Broadway
1858
1886
Brother Charles Halfmann, from drawings by Francis Himpel
2007
Founded at what was then edge of Buffalo's urbanized area under correct assumption that new church would be catalyst for outward expansion of city's East Side German community; by turn of century was largest German parish in diocese and among largest Catholic churches in the U.S.;[92] its school was also largest in Buffalo at the time, with 1,500 students.[6] Construction of current church began 1878 and lasted six years; was designed by assistant pastor who was also amateur architect, based on sketch drawn by a New York architect whose original design was rejected as too costly. Gothic Revival design described as most European of any church in city; walls 7 feet thick, built of steel-reinforced Lockport dolomite. West tower shorter than east due to inability of ground to support its weight; spires once rose over 200 feet above street, removed 1964 after damage due to wind storm. Interior contains stained glass by F. X. Zettler Studios of Munich, altar imported from Germany featuring painting of Saint Anne, large fresco paintings by Leo Frohe;[3] Johnson & Son pipe organ sold for scrap in 1966.[93] Parish began to share ministry team and pool resources with St. Mary of Sorrows and SS. Columba-Brigid in 1992 as part of reorganization of "central city" parishes[28] but challenged outright merger with the latter as part of subsequent consolidation; latter decision reaffirmed by diocese in 2013 and by Vatican's Apostolic Signatura in 2017,[94] though building's 2013 nomination as a Buffalo city landmark[10] forestalled diocese's original plan to demolish it.
Short-lived mission established on the Near East Side to serve a small congregation of African-American Catholics that had heretofore worshiped at St. Joseph's Cathedral, from which the parish continued to be administered. Parish also operated a school and offered manual training classes.[6] After dissolution of parish, building housed a nightclub, Club Savoy.[98] Demolished shortly after 1960 as part of the same urban renewal scheme that claimed the former St. Lucy church.[99] Site is now part of the parking lot in front of the Compass East Building.
St. Bartholomew
335 Grider St.
1912
1930
George W. Stickle
1993
Parish founded in an East Side neighborhood then newly urbanizing due to construction of a streetcar line along nearby Kensington Avenue; served an initially German-American congregation.[100] English Gothic-style building constructed largely of cobblestones salvaged from then-recent repaving of Elm Street downtown; entrance portal and frontispiece are of Indiana limestone; interior decorated with handcrafted woodwork.[101] Parish population peaked at 1,000 families in 1962 but fell precipitously thereafter due to demographic changes in neighborhood; school closed 1978; parish began sharing a priest with St. Matthew in 1989;[3] merged with Blessed Trinity as part of diocesan consolidation program for inner-city parishes.[28] Now home of Ephesus Ministries, a nondenominational African-American church. Former rectory notable as site of murder of then-pastor Rev. Joseph Bissonnette, one of two Buffalo priests slain over a two-week period in 1987,[102] as well as that of Sister Karen Klimczak in 2006, ironically after its conversion to a halfway house for former prisoners named in honor of Bissonnette.[31]
St. Benedict the Moor
No image available
281 E. Utica St.
1874 (as St. Nicholas)
1893
Fred Mohr
1993
Parish founded under the name St. Nicholas in Cold Spring, then a well-to-do East Side German neighborhood without a Catholic parish of its own; growing Irish ethnic minority led to bilingual services by 1891. Worshiped in three church buildings each consecutively bigger to accommodate population growth, the final of which was a Gothic-style building[3] with asymmetrical spires 80 and 120 feet in height respectively; towers featured exquisite pointed-arched fenestration in various arrangements.[103] Parish became majority-black in the 1970s and was renamed in 1981 to honor prominent saint of African descent.[95] Merged upon its closure with the neighboring parishes of Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Boniface, and St. Matthew under the new name of St. Martin de Porres.[44] Church building demolished c. late 1990s;[104] site now occupied by various detached single-family homes built in 2000.[15]
St. Boniface
151 Mulberry St.
1849 (as St. John the Baptist)
1857
unknown
1993
The third German-American Catholic church in Buffalo, serving the Fruit Belt neighborhood northeast of downtown. The church was founded under the name St. John the Baptist and given the new name St. Boniface in 1857 upon the completion of its second church building, an English Romanesque-style structure whose sanctuary was centered on an altar presented to the congregation by King Ludwig II of Bavaria featuring a large oil painting of Saint Boniface. The church also purchased a rare Aeolian organ in 1939 for use in services.[105] The parish population had already begun declining by 1914,[6] and by 1970 had shrunk to fewer than 100 families, leading to the demolition of the church building in 1979. The congregation continued holding Mass in the former Parish House on Locust Street[106] until its merger with Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Benedict the Moor, and St. Matthew to form the new parish of St. Martin de Porres.[44] The site of the original church is now a vacant lot, while the Parish House has been owned since 1995 by Teen Challenge, a faith-based drug recovery organization.[107]
The first Catholic parish to be erected in the city's First Ward, a crowded area of working-class Irish industrial laborers, St. Brigid served as social center for the neighborhood and had an influential voice in community affairs, especially in labor disputes such as the one between industrial magnate William "Fingy" Conners and the city grain scoopers' union in 1899. Parish gained a sizable African-American and Hispanic contingent after the construction of the Commodore Perry housing projects[109] in 1940.[110] Church was badly damaged in a 1968 fire and razed the following year; Mass was held in a chapel in the school building until the parish's 1987 merger with St. Columba.[26] The St. Bridgid's Square (sic) shopping plaza now occupies the site of the former church.[111]
St. Clare
197 Elk St.
2007
1888 (as home of predecessor parish St. Stephen)
Fred W. Humble
2016
Parish merged with St. Teresa's upon its closure. St. Clare itself was the product of a 2007 merger between the parishes of SS. Rita and Patrick, St. Valentine, Holy Apostles SS. Peter & Paul, Precious Blood, and St. Stephen, worshipping in the church formerly belonging to the latter.[5] Building was sold in 2017 to a local sound engineer who plans to turn it into a recording studio[112] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[113]
St. Columba
75 Hickory St.
1888
1892
unknown
1987
Parish founded in what was then a majority-Irish district on the Near East Side without a conveniently located Catholic church. Held services at first in a converted tenement house before completion of permanent church, a relatively austerely decorated Romanesque-style building whose interior was centered on a marble altar topped with a Celtic cross. Over the years, the ethnic makeup of the congregation changed to Italian and then became largely Hispanic[3] after 1960, when St. Lucy's parish was dissolved and its congregation merged into St. Columba's. Long famous as home of the "Printers' Mass", which took place at 1:30AM on Sunday mornings from 1925 until 1971 for the benefit of late-shift newspaper workers.[3] Parish merged with St. Brigid's,[26] and the combined SS. Columba-Brigid continued to meet in the former's church until it was demolished after a 2004 fire.[30]
St. Elizabeth
986 Grant St.
1906
1908
Max Beierl
2007
Parish served Buffalo's Hungarian-American community, the bulk of whom lived in Black Rock in vicinity of church; however, parish counted members citywide as well as in Lackawanna and Tonawanda due to the fact that it was the only Catholic church in Western New York where Mass was said in the Hungarian language. Church was built of brick and is Romanesque Revival in style,[6] with steel-truss roof and open floor plan.[3] Was still offering Hungarian-language services at time of its merger with Assumption parish as part of 2000s-'10s diocesan consolidation program.[114] Now home of Abundant Life in Christ Ministries, a Pentecostal church with a predominantly African-American congregation.
St. Florian
567 Hertel Ave.
1917
1964
Joseph Fronczak
2007
Smaller of the two Catholic parishes that served the Polish enclave in the Black Rock neighborhood, the northeastern portion of which began to develop around World War I-related industries. Original combination church/school building erected 1919 was meant to be temporary, but unexpectedly slow growth in parish population kept it in use much longer than anticipated.[3] Permanent church building Modernist in style; contained stained glass windows in sanctuary depicting Polish saints which were removed upon the parish's dissolution due to the diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program.[115] Now home to the nondenominational Renovation Church.[116]
Foundation of parish coincided with sale of defunct Buffalo Driving Park site to real estate developers; diocese correctly predicted rapid growth of new East Side neighborhood of Hamlin Park. Current building was third to house parish,[3] replacing a brick combination church/school building built in 1913 and a small temporary church built in 1912, respectively.[6] Most notable for its architecture; an Italian Romanesque design suggestive of churches in Ravenna, with Indiana limestone façade, ceramic tile roof, and 140-foot campanile overlooking Humboldt Parkway; interior bedecked in colorful mosaics executed in Guastavino tile.[117] Building has passed through various owners after closure due to reorganization of inner-city parishes; much of original stained glass was stripped in 2004 by subsequent owner in violation of local preservation law, leading to criticism of city government for lax enforcement.[118] Building was named a Buffalo city landmark in 1978 and is a contributing property to the locally-[10] and National Register of Historic Places-listed Hamlin Park Historic District.[119]
St. Francis of Assisi
133 N. Ogden St.
1908
1960
Albert A. Rumschick
2007
Founded to serve the Italian-American residents of the multiethnic neighborhood of Lovejoy,[3] who arrived slightly later than the Germans and Irish who attended St. Agnes and Visitation, respectively, but who came to demographic dominance after the Second World War. In 2007, as part of the "Journey in Faith and Grace" program, the Buffalo diocese merged Lovejoy's three Catholic parishes into one, which was given the new name St. Katharine Drexel and which continues to meet in the former St. Francis church complex.[36]
The "Mother Church of Black Rock",[120] founded several years before the village's annexation by the City of Buffalo to serve a largely German community for whom the nearest Catholic churches were miles away. Congregation grew rapidly throughout 19th century; cemetery established 1864 still extant, now enclosed by Riverside Park. Current building is Lombard Romanesque style with basilica floor plan; sports triple-arched entrance with Tuscan columns and carvings of the signs of the Four Evangelists, prominent raking corbel table under front gable;[121] tower rebuilt 1931 after structural deficiency discovered. Interior features mural paintings in sanctuary and side altars by Father Raphael Pfisterer, stained glass windows by F. X. Zettler Studios are representations of Stations of the Cross (only ones in Buffalo done in art glass),[3] organ is one of last ever built by Herman Schlicker.[122] School merged with that of neighboring St. John the Baptist parish in 1968, closed 1983; began sharing pastor with St. John the Baptist in 1995; parish dissolved as part of "Journey in Faith and Grace" downsizing program. Building listed on National Register of Historic Places in 2009[123] and is part of the also NRHP-listed Market Square Historic District.[124] Now operated as Buffalo Religious Arts Museum.[125]
Parish was originally German in makeup; initial church was replaced by present building for which ground was broken in 1911; building left only partially completed until 1930, when temporary roof was replaced by permanent one and bell tower was added. Church is Italian Romanesque in style with a design based on the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls; built of Indiana limestone with niche statues of Saints Gerard and Joseph carved by local sculptor Angelo Gatti; interior decorated with 15 murals depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary, monumental Ionic arcade along sides of nave, fresco painting of the Coronation of Mary inside semidome of apse.[3] After dissolution of parish, building purchased by Catholic congregation in Norcross, Georgia whose proposal to dismantle it piece by piece and ship it there for reassembly sparked contentious debate within the local preservation community[126] especially after Preservation Buffalo Niagara came out in favor of the plan;[127] stained glass windows, altar and pews were removed, but plan was ultimately scuttled due to lack of funds.[128] Building was resold to a Muslim group in 2017 and is currently undergoing conversion to a mosque.[129]
Parish founded to serve mixed German/Irish community in an East Side area that was still semirural at the time but rapidly urbanizing. Ground was broken for the current building in 1926, but construction soon stalled due to lack of funding; congregation worshipped in the basement (the only completed portion of the building) until completion of present church, an unusual-looking Gothic Revival-style building with an enormous, deeply recessed portal dominating the front façade. Interior of church was renovated 1980[3] but parish population began to decline soon after; shared a pastor with St. Gerard parish for last two years of its existence.[131] After closure of church, building served for a time as a food pantry;[132] now home to a Baptist church serving the local Karen refugee community.[133]
St. Joachim
64 Titus Ave.
1902
1954
Joseph Fronczak
1993
Founded in 1902 to serve a neighborhood that at the time was a small island of German-Americans amidst the vast Polish district of Buffalo's East Side, the congregation's original church on the same site burned in 1942 and, after a period spent worshiping in a temporary chapel in the basement of the parochial school, was replaced by the building seen here.[3] After the parish's dissolution, it served as home of the Free Spirit Missionary Baptist Church until 2014.[15] Now home to Baitul Mamoor Jam-e-Masjid, serving a Muslim congregation of mainly Bangladeshi origin.
St. John the Baptist
60 Hertel Ave.
1867
1927
Oakley & Schallmo
2007
Second Catholic parish in Black Rock, founded to serve the Anglophone Irish community that heretofore had worshiped at the German-majority St. Francis Xavier; congregation grew rapidly throughout the 19th century despite 1885 foundation of Annunciation parish to which more than half of St. John the Baptist's former parish was divided out; complex continually expanded to accommodate growth and included a rectory, school, lyceum, and convent by 1914.[6] Church sports a mix of Italian Gothic[134] and Spanish Baroque Revival influences typical of the output of its architects, with exquisite terra cotta detailing both inside and out.[3] Building was named a Buffalo city landmark in 1978.[10] Parish merged with Annunciation as part of diocesan consolidation program; building's purchase two years later by Rev. Ronald Kirk as home of Witness Cathedral of Faith was controversial as congregation had recently been evicted from their previous home, the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church, as neglect of structural maintenance had led to the building being unsafe for occupancy.[135] Church is now vacant; former school is home to RiverRock Church, a congregation affiliated with the Buffalo Myanmar Indigenous Christian Fellowship.[136]
St. John the Evangelist
2319 Seneca St.
1907
1931
Karl Schmill & Sons
2009
Founded by German-speaking faction at St. Teresa who petitioned bishop for establishment of new parish where services would be conducted in their language; however, rapid population growth in parish (and South Buffalo in general) in ensuing years[3] meant congregation had Anglophone majority by 1914. Church property surrounded by verdant Cazenovia Park;[6] present building of Ohio sandstone hearkens back to 14th-century Italian Romanesque style, lacking towers, spires or much exterior ornamentation. Interior contains exquisite mural paintings in apse depicting scenes from Book of Revelation, the work of artist Valdemar Kjeldgaard, as well as stained glass by Rambusch Decorating Company.[137] Building purchased in 2014 by local real estate investor intending to convert it to an event space,[138] but was resold in 2016[15] to another development group for conversion to apartments and commercial space, possibly including a craft brewery.[139]
Intended as the new cathedral church of the Buffalo diocese, to replace the old one on Franklin Street downtown. The architect was a native of Rome unaccustomed to the considerations of design for cold climates like Buffalo's, and structural problems made themselves apparent almost immediately: the twin steeples were removed for safety reasons in 1927, and by the 1970s large sections of pews had to be roped off to protect congregants from the chunks of plaster that fell from the ceiling at regular intervals. Unwilling to pay the estimated cost of $2.2 million necessary to restore the building to a sound state, the diocese had it demolished, at which time the original St. Joseph's Cathedral reverted to its former role. Timon Towers, a senior citizens' apartment complex, occupies the site today.[140]
St. Lawrence
1520 E. Delavan Ave.
1929
1961
Thomas Justin Imbs
2024
Traces its history to 1914, when St. Gerard church established a mission to better serve residents of the outer part of its parish territory, namely the Italian settlement on the Far East Side near the city line. Became a parish in its own right in 1929; original church was a small wood-frame building designed by architect Karl Schmill which was expanded in 1930 and again in 1941 before succumbing to fire in 1960.[3] The current church is Modernist in style. St. Lawrence closed on August 10, 2024.[141]
St. Lucy
No image available
264 Swan St.
1906
shortly after 1914
unknown
1960
Served a working-class Campanese Italian community on the Near East Side[3] who had heretofore been attending St. Columba church on account of the distance to St. Anthony of Padua, Buffalo's only established Italian parish at the time; a former Presbyterian church that had been purchased for their use, along with two adjacent houses that served respectively as a rectory and a parochial school staffed by Sisters of St. Mary of Namur from Lockport, were replaced some time after 1914[6] by a larger building, magnificent and of Victorian style. The church, along with most of the 160-acre tract on which it stood, was demolished shortly after the parish's dissolution due to urban renewal of what was by then a blighted neighborhood. Most of its former congregants moved to other parts of the city;[142] those who didn't joined St. Columba parish.[26] The former site of the church remained vacant until 1991, when a tract of suburban-style housing was built there.[143]
St. Luke
1300 Sycamore St.
1908
1930
Oakley & Schallmo
1993
Founded to serve the Polish population[6] in the northeast corner of the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, relatively far removed from other Polish Catholic churches at the time. Rapid growth of neighborhood in first quarter of the 20th century led to repeated cycle of construction of larger buildings to accommodate the congregation: original 1908 frame church was replaced the following year by a combination church/school, which in return was replaced by the current church. Architecture is Italian Romanesque in keeping with the firm's usual style; design based loosely on Old St. Peter's Basilica; most prominently features a glazed polychrome terra cotta frieze over the entrance depicting Biblical figures from the New and Old Testaments.[3] Interior contains four large fresco murals painted in the 1950s by Jan Henryk de Rosen and restored in 2006.[144] Parish purchased after its dissolution by local restaurateur with help from anonymous benefactor and now houses St. Luke's Mission of Mercy,[145] a charitable organization providing food for impoverished neighborhood residents inter alia.[146]
Parish founded to serve the well-to-do Germans of the East Side neighborhood of Humboldt Park, which was then without a conveniently located Catholic church; three-story combination church/school building built 1900 on land formerly belonging to wealthy miller and landowner George Urban razed in 1906 to make way for present building. Church is built of terra cotta brick[6] and is Romanesque in style; Moorish Revival cupolas that once topped its twin towers were replaced by current ones in simpler style after a 1964 windstorm.[93] Interior once contained mural paintings by Rochester, New York-based artist Albert Prentiss Ward imitating the style of Diego Velázquez,[3] no longer extant. Now home of Antioch Baptist Church.[148]
Also known as the Church of the Seven Dolors. Founded in connection with St. Mary Redemptorist's parish cemetery[6] once located nearby on Dodge Street,[149] as well as due to the lack of any other Catholic church in the newly urbanizing area of Humboldt Park. Construction of current (second) church took 15 years; its Rhenish Romanesque design is exemplified by multitudinous rounded towers[3] and was inspired by that of Worms Cathedral;[150] said to be the finest example of the style in Buffalo. Façade is rusticated and of Buffalo Plains limestone. Was one of the largest German Catholic parishes in the city by 1914, with a parish population of about 5,000 and a pastor active in countering socialist political sympathies then popular among East Side German community. Current interior dates to $500,000 restoration after 1947 fire, which spared only the walls and the stained glass windows. Parish population began declining in the 1950s and '60s; in 1985, the diocese announced intentions to demolish the church due to high cost of maintenance,[151] which was prevented by its nomination as a Buffalo city landmark in 1986;[10] it's now home to a community center[152] and was also used for a time as a charter school.[153] Services were held in chapel in former rectory after sale of original church;[154] parish population continued declining and began to share ministry team and resources with St. Ann and SS. Columba-Brigid in 1992 as part of reorganization of "central city" parishes[28] before merging with the latter as part of "Journey in Faith and Grace" program.[29]
St. Mary Redemptorist
225 Broadway
1843
1844
unknown
1981
Founded by the German faction of the discord-plagued Lamb of God parish, parish served for many years as the headquarters for the local chapter of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, whose territory stretched east to Elmira and north to Toronto and whose itinerant priests held Masses for Catholics in rural communities too small to support their own churches. The St. Mary's complex, comprising the church, an adjacent convent, and St. Mary's Lyceum, was named a Buffalo city landmark in 1980,[10] however the church was destroyed by fire in December 1986, and the convent was demolished in 1990.[155] The site of the church and the adjacent convent are occupied today by private homes; St. Mary's Lyceum is still extant and is used as storage space by the Belmont Management Company.[156]
St. Matthew
1066 E. Ferry St.
1908
1928
George A. Setter
1993
Parish was founded from portions of the territory of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Mary of Sorrows, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. Gerard[6] and served an East Side German congregation. Construction of permanent church began in 1910 but stalled soon afterward due to lack of funds; congregation worshipped in basement of current building, covered by a temporary roof, until work recommenced in 1927. Church is Baroque in style, built of Ohio sandstone and with a design reminiscent of Aachen Cathedral. Parish began sharing a priest with St. Bartholomew in 1989[3] and merged four years later with the neighboring parishes of Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Boniface, and St. Benedict the Moor under the new name of St. Martin de Porres.[44] Building has passed through the hands of several religious congregations and other owners since parish's dissolution[15] but is currently vacant.
St. Monica
206 Orlando St.
1912
1914
Lansing, Bley & Lyman
1995
Parish met for its first two years in a rented storefront[6] before completion of its permanent building in the Seneca-Babcock neighborhood, an austere and utilitarian one that housed both church and school. Congregation was mixed Irish, Polish and German; parish boundaries were drawn to reflect geographic convenience rather than to encompass a particular ethnic enclave, an unusual phenomenon in Buffalo at the time.[157] Never particularly large in size, the parish was dissolved due to demographic changes in the neighborhood and the retirement of its leader, Msgr. William A. Setlock; the flock was given the choice to join the parishes of St. Stephen, St. Teresa, or SS. Rita & Patrick and voted for the latter.[158] The former St. Monica church building was demolished in 1999[159] and is now a vacant lot.[20]
St. Patrick
39 Emslie St.
1853 (as St. Vincent de Paul)
1891
Cyrus K. Porter & Son
1981
Founded for the community of working-class Irish industrial laborers that had gathered in the neighborhood known as The Hydraulics. Originally named St. Vincent de Paul in honor of the Vincentian Fathers, a Catholic society to which then-Bishop John Timon belonged; took on the name St. Patrick in 1858 upon the dissolution of the original parish by that name. Had a majority-black congregation in its last years and was the home parish of Ronald Walker, the first African-American Catholic deacon in Buffalo, ordained in 1980. The interior contained a series of 14 paintings depicting the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, the work of artist Marco Silvestri, and was built of Medina sandstone in the Gothic style.[160] Parish was merged with St. Rita's in 1981 due to shrinking congregation and church building was demolished the following year.[161] The friary next door remained in operation until 2018, when the diocese sold it.[162]
Buffalo's second Catholic parish chronologically, Irish-American in ethnic makeup; seceded from Lamb of God due to their desire to conduct church business in English rather than German.[3] Rev. William Whelan was a temperance advocate and preached strongly against the then-common practice of railroad contractors and other industrial workers being paid partially in whiskey. Served as procathedral for the Buffalo Diocese from its inception in 1847 until services began to be held at St. Joseph's Cathedral, whereupon the parish was dissolved and the building was donated to the Sisters of Charity and became home of St. Vincent's Female Orphan Asylum.[6] The Buffalo Central Library occupies the site today.
St. Rita
190 Fillmore Ave.
1919
1920
George Dietel
1981
Founded in 1919 to serve Buffalo's Slovak-American Catholic community, who had previously worshipped with other immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the far-flung St. Elizabeth's parish in Black Rock.[3] Parish merged in 1981 with St. Patrick's on Seymour Street; the merged parish continued using St. Rita's building.[20]
Short-lived parish was the result of a 1981 merger between St. Rita and St. Patrick; the congregation of St. Monica was added to the fold after the 1995 dissolution of their parish.[20] The diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program saw SS. Rita & Patrick merge with St. Valentine, Holy Apostles SS. Peter & Paul, Precious Blood, and St. Stephen parishes to form St. Clare.[5] Church building is of a simple Gothic Revival design, with stained glass by local glazier Jozef Mazur[164] and an interior sanctuary decorated with stencil art, the work of Slovak artisans. The central tower is flat-roofed and steepleless[165] and topped with a cross bottony. Building is now home to Try Jesus Ministries, a nondenominational African-American congregation.
St. Stephen
197 Elk St.
1875
1888
Fred W. Humble
2007
The second Catholic parish to be established in the First Ward, St. Stephen was sited in the eastern part of the neighborhood for the convenience of those who heretofore had to walk long distances to get to St. Brigid. The current Gothic Revival-style building, erected in 1888, had an open-plan interior without pillars and once contained an organ built by the Garrett House Organ Company of Buffalo.[3] Its steeples were removed c. 1932 due to concerns about their structural integrity. As part of the diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program, St. Stephen's parish merged with those of SS. Rita and Patrick, St. Valentine, Holy Apostles SS. Peter & Paul, and Precious Blood, taking the name St. Clare[5] and continuing to use the building for worship until 2016, when St. Clare itself merged with St. Teresa. Building was sold in 2017 to a local sound engineer who plans to turn it into a recording studio[112] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[113]
St. Valentine
528 South Park Ave.
1920
1923
George Dietel
2007
Served a small Polish-American community that had settled in the heretofore monolithically Irish neighborhood of the First Ward.[3] Merged with four other churches as part of the Buffalo diocese's "Journey in Faith and Grace" consolidation program to form the new St. Clare parish.[5] The building was purchased in 2009 by Ellicott Development,[166] who is marketing it for reuse as office or educational space.[167]
St. Vincent de Paul
2033 Main St.
1864
1926
Thomas, Perry & McMullen
1993
Parish founded to serve an East Side neighborhood relatively far removed from downtown, at the time populated sparsely and largely by Germans who worked in the nearby limestone quarries. Growth was initially slow but accelerated beginning in the 1880s; congregation was majority English-speaking by 1914.[6] Present building is in a combination of the Romanesque and Byzantine styles; interior walls are faced in a combination of buff brick and salt-glazed Guastavino tile; sanctuary features mural paintings and mosaics by artist Felix Lieftuchter. Decline in parish population came with demographic changes on the Near East Side after World War II; congregation initially resisted[28] but ultimately assented to the diocese's proposal for a merger with the neighboring parish of Blessed Trinity.[3] The building was purchased by Canisius College upon the parish's dissolution and is now used by them as the Montante Cultural Center,[168] an event space.
Transfiguration
929 Sycamore St.
1893
1897
Karl Schmill
1993
Parish cleaved off the territory of St. Adalbert;[6] served Austrian Polish community that had settled in the northern part of Broadway-Fillmore district.[169] Rapid growth of parish necessitated construction of permanent church almost immediately after parish's founding; Gothic Revival design includes stained glass windows crowned with medallions in pinwheel mullion pattern, only example of such in Buffalo;[3] interior contained a number of mural paintings by Marion Rzeznik and Jozef Mazur[170] including one depicting the legendary Marian apparition over the Vistula during the 1920 Battle of Warsaw.[171] Demographic changes in neighborhood during late 20th century led to closure of school in 1985 and church building in 1990; congregation, by then down to 50 members, met for Mass in chapel of former school building for last three years of parish's existence. Planned demolition of church was forestalled by its nomination as a Buffalo city landmark and its sale to a local not-for-profit who planned to establish a Montessori preschool in the building,[172] though regulatory hurdles led to long delays in structural restoration work[173] and ultimately an arrest warrant for the new owner due to building code violations that was only rescinded after roof repairs began in 2007.[174] Building was resold to a new owner in 2017[15] but remains vacant.
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin
198 Greene St.
1898
1899
Albert A. Post
2007
Second Catholic parish in the Lovejoy neighborhood, which was predominantly a German enclave but also had a sizable Irish minority who felt uncomfortable worshiping at the already established congregation of St. Agnes. Building housed both church and school and was originally four stories in height including the basement; upper-story auditorium space was removed in 1937 due to structural decay from deferred building maintenance.[3] Parish merged with St. Agnes and St. Francis of Assisi to form the new St. Katharine Drexel parish, which meets in the latter's former home on North Ogden Street.[36] The International Sangha Bhiksu Buddhist Association purchased the building in 2009[91] intending to use it a convent,[175] but sold it in 2017[15] without ever having occupied it. Currently slated to be the future home of Madinah Masjid, Lovejoy's first mosque.
Knox Farm State Park is a 633-acre (256.2 ha) state park located in Erie County, New York, adjacent to the village of East Aurora. It is the former country estate of the Knox Family of Buffalo.
The Diocese of Buffalo is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Western New York in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese within the metropolitan province of the Archdiocese of New York.
Edward Urban Kmiec was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the 13th bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in New York from 2004 to 2012.
St. Paul's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York and a landmark of downtown Buffalo, New York. The church sits on a triangular lot bounded by Church St., Pearl St., Erie St., and Main St. It was built in 1849–1851 to a design by Richard Upjohn, and was believed by him to be his finest work. Its interior was gutted by fire in 1888, and was redesigned thereafter by Robert W. Gibson, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 for its architecture.
St. Stanislaus - Bishop & Martyr Church is located at 123 Townsend Street, Buffalo, New York on the city's east side. The Church is the oldest Polish church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and holds the title of "Mother Church of Polonia" for western New York.
The Corpus Christi R.C. Church Complex is a series of several buildings located on Buffalo's historic East Side within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. The complex contains the Kolbe Center, Sears Street Hall, Rectory, Convent and the huge sandstone church that towers over the neighborhood. The complex school was closed in 1982 and has been razed.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church and Rectory are located in downtown Rochester, New York.
Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church Buildings is a historic Romanesque revival Roman Catholic church complex located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It is part of the Diocese of Buffalo.
Villa Maria Motherhouse Complex, or Felician Sisters Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent Chapel and Convent, is a historic Roman Catholic convent located at Cheektowaga in Erie County, New York. It is included in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. It was constructed in 1927, and is a three-part Gothic Revival building that was built for the Felician Sisters of St. Francis to house a boarding and day high school, public and private chapels and the Motherhouse/Novitiate. The school, known as Villa Maria Academy, closed in 2006. The school property was repurposed as affordable housing for seniors.
Andrew Jackson Warner, also known as A. J. Warner, was a prominent architect in Rochester, New York.
St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Parish Complex is a historic former Roman Catholic church complex located in Buffalo in Erie County, New York.
The Twentieth Century Club is a women's social club founded in the late 19th century in Buffalo, New York, at 595 Delaware Avenue in the Delaware District. It was the first club run by women, for women, in the United States.
The Church of All Saints is a historic former Catholic church in the Archdiocese of New York, located at 47 East 129th Street, at the corner of Madison Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
The Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch is a Catholic parish church in the Archdiocese of New York, located at 685 Tinton Avenue in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. It was established in 1891 and is staffed by the Order of Augustinian Recollects. Previously it was staffed by Benedictine monks.
Saint Louis Roman Catholic Church is the oldest Catholic parish in Buffalo, New York. It was the first Catholic church built in Buffalo, and holds the title of "Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo".
Edward Michael Grosz, is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in New York from 1990 to 2020.
Hamlin Park Historic District is a national historic district and neighborhood located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The district encompasses 1,368 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites, and 6 contributing structures in a predominantly residential section of Buffalo. The district includes a variety of residential buildings built primarily between about 1895 and 1930, and later improved through Model Cities Program grants between 1966 and 1975. It includes a variety of pattern book houses in popular architectural styles of the late-19th and early-20th century, with some interspersed Bungalow / American Craftsman style dwellings. Located in the district are the separately listed Robert T. Coles House and Studio and Stone Farmhouse. Other notable buildings include the Lutheran Church Home (1906), the former Second United Presbyterian Church (1920), and the former St. Francis DeSales Roman Catholic Church (1926).
Market Square Historic District is a national historic district located in the Black Rock neighborhood of Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The district encompasses 15 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site in a mixed residential and commercial section of Buffalo. The district developed between about 1830 and 1912, and includes a buildings in a variety of architectural styles including Federal, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival, and Bungalow / American Craftsman. Located in the district is the separately listed St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Parish Complex. Other notable contributing resources include the Market Square (1830), Black Rock Savings and Loan (1870-1910), Firehouse Engine #15 (1912), Smith House and Tavern, St. John's Church (1894), and Howell House and Store.
St. Matthias Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens County, New York, in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
The Westminster Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church located in the Delaware Avenue neighborhood of Buffalo, Erie County, New York. The Romanesque Revival building completed in 1859 features a number of exception stained glass windows and is a contributing property to the Delaware Avenue Historic District designated in 1974.
↑ Goldman, Mark (October 31, 1990). City on the Lake: The Challenge of Change in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. p.41. ISBN9780879755799.
↑ Amos, Sharon R.; Savannah, Sharon A. (February 14, 2012). Open Doors: Western New York African American Houses of Worship. Buffalo, N.Y.: The Writer's Den. p.80. ISBN9780578100265.
↑ Per Buffalolore, Old St. Mary's Cemetery was located on what would later be the site of the German Catholic Orphan Asylum, which LaChiusa places at 564 Dodge Street.
↑ Atlas of the City of Buffalo, Erie Co., New York. Philadelphia: G. M. Hopkins & Co. 1872. Retrieved May 25, 2020. Wherein St. Vincent's Female Orphan Asylum appears on the south side of Batavia Street (now Broadway) just east of the corner of Ellicott Street.
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