Welcome to the seventh and final “church visit” in my series about the Holy Thursday Tradition of Visiting Seven Churches. If you missed my introduction post explaining all about the tradition and my interest in it, you can access it here. I’ll list the links to the other six individual church posts at the end of this article.
We have come full circle and are back in the very heart of Old Polonia, where we began just seven days ago with a post about St. Stanislaus Church. Which is, in fact, only a half a mile away from today’s church, Corpus Christi. Or as my kids used to call it, the Broadway Market Church, because whenever we went to the market, we’d make a stop at Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi – the Early Years
The history of Corpus Christi is a bit different from the other Polonia churches in Buffalo. In this series, we have heard the stories of families banning together to petition for a church, for overcrowding reasons, for distance reasons, for safety from the railroads etc. But, by 1898, Bishop James Quigley knew that a second church was needed right in the heart of Old Polonia, very close to St. Stan’s. It was, after all, one of the most densely populated areas of the city. The diocese had built several new churches north, south and east of St. Stan’s. But the very core of the neighborhood remained in need of another parish.
The stained glass in this church is exquisite! Photo Credit: Tim Zelasko
Bishop Quigley invited Fr. Hyacinth Fudzinski, a Franciscan Friar, to Buffalo from Syracuse, to found the parish. Fr. Hyacinth was born in Czarnkow, Poland. The bishop felt he would fit right in to the heavily Polish neighborhood. Several lots and homes were purchased at the corner of Clark and Kent Streets. (Forgive me, but I still get a very childish kick out of this.) One of the homes was used for church services, with a capacity of only 300. It was, of course, to be temporary.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The First Church is Built
In August of 1898, construction began on a combination church/school/parish hall. The first floor church had a capacity of 1000. In the first year alone, the brand new parish registered 650 families.
The Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph taught at the school. This is also different from other churches in the area. Most of the other parishes had Felicians teaching in their schools. The Franciscan Sisters were a relatively new order, and since Fr. Hyacinth was a Franciscan Friar it seemed only natural to him. A rectory was built in 1900, and five years later a convent was added for the Sisters.
A New Church for Corpus Christi Parish
The new parish thrived. Another, larger church was required. In 1907, the cornerstone for the Romanesque Revival Church we know today, was laid. It’s built of Onondaga limestone, and faced with red Medina sandstone. It was dedicated in 1909.
Here’s a really fun fact. Letters written to God, by the schoolchildren, were stuffed into the crosses that top the towers of the new church. Sweet! Wouldn’t you love to read them?
Photo Credit: Corpus Christi website
In my opinion, these Romanesque Revival churches in the area are cover for what lies inside. Looking at them from outside, you would never be able to guess the beauty within. And Corpus Christi is beautiful. Gorgeous in fact. The sanctuary contains a reproduction of ‘Disputa’ by Raphael Santi. It’s breathtaking.
Jozef Mazur’s version of Disputa by Raphael Santi. Note the Last Supper that graces the front of the altar. That’s tonight!
The Ensuing Years
Each pastor of Corpus Christi took on some form of addition to the church, the complex, or added interior decoration in some form. The murals were added. The Stations of the Cross were framed, the organ was added. In addition, the murals were redone by artist M.M. Rzeznik. The mural on the back wall above the inside entrance along with the smaller paintings of saints above the arches inside were new additions by Rzeznik.
The church flourished and was the center of life for most of it’s parishioners. There were clubs for just about everything you can imagine, needlework, sewing, baseball and basketball teams, dramatic societies, bowling and more. You heard that right. I said bowling. Until a few years ago, I thought my parish was the only one in Buffalo that had a bowling alley!
Here’s a good shot of the frames added to the Stations of the Cross – beautiful! Photo Credit: Corpus Christi website
In 1929, earlier than most parishes, registrations at Corpus Christi fell from 2,000 to 1,750 families. This is largely because of the building of the Central Terminal, only blocks away. 300 homes were demolished to build it.
Still 1,750 families are plenty to sustain a parish. And they did. For several more decades Corpus Christi remained the center of the Polish neighborhood it serviced.
Here’s Another Fun Fact
Beginning in 1931, Fr. Justin Figas, founder of St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, began broadcasting his ‘Fr. Justin’s Rosary Hour’ radio program from the sanctuary of Corpus Christi. It was the oldest continuing hour-long religious network program in the Polish language in the world. Cool.
You Know Where This is Going – But Do You?
The school remained open until 1988, when enrollments fell to the point of no return. The school was torn down and replaced with a parking lot.
In 2003, the Franciscan Friars announced they would be leaving Corpus Christi, and that the church would most likely close by the end of that year. It seemed that Corpus Christi would go the way of so many other Catholic Churches in Buffalo. Parishioners enlisted the help of Msgr. Matthew Kopacz of St. Casimir’s Parish. Msgr. Kopacz contacted the Pauline Fathers and Brothers, and after seeing the complex, they decided to take over the church and it’s grounds. The Pauline Fathers and Brothers assumed control in January, 2004.
Photo Credit: Corpus Christi website
This seemed to breathe new life into the parish. Reportedly, some older parishioners have rejoined, and new ones have come. There is a real, genuine effort to keep the church alive. And it seems to be working. Renovations inside the church took place only a couple of years ago. This is a good sign.
I hope and pray that this church makes it. It is too important a treasure to let go.
My Impressions
Corpus Christi was always one of the churches we’d go to with my Dad on those church tours I spoke about in the introduction to this series. Because of that, it was one that I always took my kids to. When we started doing the Lenten mass mobs that I also mentioned in the introduction, we decided to go to Corpus Christi’s Polish mass. This had to be 2009 or 2010. Several members of our family and friends joined us that morning in the church, including my husband’s Uncle Jim, who told us that he was baptized at Corpus Christi. Nice!
Photo Credit: Corpus Christi website
I Do Not Speak Polish
We were all thankful that their missals were in both Polish and English, on pages facing each other. We felt it would be easier to follow along. Now, I don’t speak Polish. I mean I know a few words. Grandma. Grandpa. Thank you. I love you. Names of specific foods. Cheers. Cold beer. You know, the necessities for life in Buffalo.
But as mass began, I found I didn’t need the book. Everything, and everybody around me fell away. I understood it all. And I didn’t, at the same time. But I knew where we were in the mass the whole time. I felt warm and welcome, and I felt a connection. I don’t know how else to describe it.
At the end of the mass the priest did a litany along with the Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. In Polish. But I knew each saint he invoked, and which prayers he said. Now, there was not one word of English the entire hour. I still cannot explain it to this day, other than how I’ve just described it to you. It wasn’t life changing, but it was a pretty cool experience. Whenever I think of Corpus Christi, I think of that one mass.
Update: September 22, 2020
Two days ago, I was lucky enough to attend mass at Corpus Christi for their Harvest Mass. It was the 41st Annual, and due to Covid-19, the usual festival with traditional Polish food, drink and music were cancelled.
But what a mass! I am happy to share photos of the day. I hope you enjoy them.
The first is a photo of the woman who made the harvest decorations. They are made in the Polish tradition that she learned in Poland before she came to America. She is now teaching the process to other members of the parish so the tradition may be continued, and passed on to the next generation. She grows the wheat and most of the flowers herself! What a beautiful tradition!
Where is It?
Corpus Christi Church is located at 199 Clark Street, at the corner of Kent Street. Do not miss this one. It is truly a Buffalo treasure. And if you’re of Polish descent, try the Polish mass. When the churches reopen of course.
I’ve decided to add one more post at the end of this series. It’ll be about the Polish tradition of having our Easter baskets blessed on Holy Saturday. It’s another tradition we will all miss this year. I’ll be publishing it Saturday morning.
My Final Thoughts on This Series
I would like to take a moment to thank each of you who have been following this series. Your comments and kind words are much appreciated! I’d also like to send a special shout-out to Christopher Byrd over at Broadway Fillmore Alive and Buffalo Mass Mob, and to Judith Felski over at Buffalo Sacred Sites for sharing the heck out of these posts. Many churches and individuals shared and re-posted as well. For all of this I am both grateful and humbled.
I wrote this series because i knew that I would miss our Holy Thursday Tradition. And it occurred to me that I would not be the only one. I thought that by writing these posts and getting them out there to as many people as possible, maybe I could make this Holy Week just a little bit better for all of us. All of you, have made my Easter 2020. Dziekuje. Thank you.
I hope you have enjoyed this series, and I sincerely hope that you are all well in mind, body and spirit. May we all know peace this Easter.
**Lead Image Photo Credit: Corpus Christi website
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Welcome to the fifth of seven “church visits” in my series about the Holy Thursday Tradition of Visiting Seven Churches. If you missed my introduction post explaining all about the tradition and my interest in it, you can access it here. I’ll list the links to the individual church posts at the end of this article.
So, today we are ‘visiting’ St. Casimir Church in Kaisertown. Not really considered Old Polonia, but very Polish nonetheless.
Early Life at St. Casimir
The history at St. Casimir is unique when compared to the churches we’ve ‘visited’ so far.
As discussed in our other visits the late 1800’s brought an onslaught of European immigrants to Buffalo. The number of Polish immigrants increased significantly with the opening of St. Stanislaus Parish in 1873. But as we talked about in more than one of these posts, St. Stan’s grew so fast that by the 1880’s, more churches were needed to accommodate the growing population on Buffalo’s East Side.
Photo Credit: Mark Ciemcioch
Polish immigrants were also settling east of ‘Old Polonia’ because they found work further outside the crowded area most of Buffalo’s Polish were living. A group of Catholic Poles who found work just east of the Clinton/Bailey area, and who lived in the vicinity of Cable and Casimir Streets, petitioned to then bishop Stephen Ryan for the formation of a new Polish Church for Buffalo. There were roughly forty families representing just over 250 people involved at the very beginning. This was in the mid-1880’s.
These families appear to have planned very well for the needs of their new parish. From the start, they came together to see to all the needs of new immigrant families in the area. They understood the need for basic food, shelter and clothing, but they also understood that spiritual needs must be met in order to live peacefully together. Hence, their petition.
The Bishop’s Response
Instead of giving permission to form a new parish immediately, Bishop Ryan sent a series of priests to come on Sundays to provide weekly masses for the faithful, and emergency services in a crisis. I would imagine that would have included administering last rites, funeral masses and support during such events. Some of the priests who rotated Sundays with this congregation are familiar to this series, Fr. John Pitass of St. Stanislaus and Fr. Thomas Flaczek of both St. Adalbert’s and St. John Kanty parishes.
I found this response to be interesting. Maybe the initial 40 families weren’t enough? Maybe the diocese felt unsure about the area this group settled? I mean, at a time where churches seemed to be popping up on every third or fourth block, why the hesitation? We may never know.
But here’s something even more interesting. The congregation, by all accounts only expressed gratitude to the bishop at that time. Of course, it’s entirely possible that they knew something that we don’t.
Persistance Pays Off
In 1890, Bishop Ryan assigned Rev. Rajmund Wieder to help form the parish. The congregants worked well with Fr. Wieder to build a combination church/school/parish hall. It was affectionately referred to as “Noah’s Ark” because of it’s general appearance. The land for the building was donated by Buffalo City Judge Daniel Kenefick. It stood at the corner of Casimir and Weimar Streets.
“Noah’s Ark” Photo Credit: Poloniatrail. com
Noah’s Ark, aka St. Casimir’s Church, was dedicated in November of 1890. Fr. Wieder was transferred in 1891, and a succession of temporary pastors took his place for the next several years. In the meantime, the parish grew exponentially.
Rev. Francis Kasprzak Arrives at St. Casimir
In 1900, Rev. Francis Kasprzak arrived at St. Casimir’s as the new pastor. His youth and enthusiasm was catchy and the parishioners embraced the next ten years under his leadership, during which many good things happened for the parish. Fr. Kasprzak oversaw the extension of the church building to accommodate the now 1200 parishioners, about 250 families, and also the building of a residence for the priests. The diocese noticed the growth and sent an associate priest to the parish around 1903.
The world’s-first Domestic Church Shrine (Family Vine Memorial, 2015)
The school had grown to 93 students and it was Fr. Kasprzak who brought in the Felician Sisters to teach in the school. The Sisters commuted from the motherhouse until the new rectory was completed in 1905, when the first priest’s residence was converted to a convent for the Sisters.
With the parishioner count increasing all the time, Fr. Kasprzak turned his attention to the construction of a new combination building, to house a church on the first floor, a school on the second and a church hall on the third. The building was dedicated in November 1908.
After 11 years at St. Casimir’s, Fr. Kasprzak was transferred to another parish within the diocese. His spirit of enthusiasm lived on and St. Casimir Parish continued to flourish long after he left.
The Rev. Anthony Majewski Years
Several priests followed Fr. Kasprzak, but only temporarily.
In 1915, the bishop appointed Rev. Anthony Majewski to the parish. He would stay at St. Casimir’s for 40 years.
The first thing Fr. Majewski did was contact the right people with the city and ensured the paving of Weimar, Cable and Casimir Streets so that the parishioners had easy access to all of the parish buildings. He also had the old church building partially removed because it had seen better days; sold the wood from it to parishioners, making enough money to renovate the rest of the structure into four additional classrooms for the school.
The dome in the Domestic Church Shrine
Fr. Majewski then embarked upon a parish beautification project. He had the grounds landscaped, put in gardens and sidewalks and had dead trees removed, giving the children of the parish a place to play. Once the beautification project was completed, he tackled the much needed repairs of the parish school, painting of the interior of both the school and the church, and had sewers installed. Fr. Majewski also started a church/school library and instituted Regents Exams for the school.
The school itself continued to grow, and part of the parish hall was utilized to add more classrooms. In 1924 a new convent was built to accommodate the now 20 Felician Sisters who lived at the parish and taught at the school.
At this point Fr. Majewski again had the streets in the area improved, including having the original three repaved. He was also instrumental in instituting the flood control program for the Buffalo River, where several children had drowned.
A New Church
The diocese took notice of all of this growth. In 1926, they suggested to Fr. Majewski that he look into building a permanent church for the parish. Having traveled to both Poland and the near east, Fr. Majewski already knew he wanted something that Buffalo had never seen before. He worked with Joseph Fronczak, a young associate with the Chester Oakley architectural firm, to come up with the design for the building we now know as St. Casimir Church. The use of color on the terra cotta on the exterior is spectacular! The interior is even more exquisite!
Photo Credit: Buffalo Mass Mob
The new church was dedicated in May 1929. Even the depression didn’t deter the parishioners in their quest to complete the church and a new modern school as well. It’s kind of amazing that at that point in our nations history, that this local church was able to accomplish so much.
St. John Paul Visits St. Casimir’s
Certainly one of the highlights of St. Casimir’s history was the visit of Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, at the time archbishop of Kraków, Poland. He traveled with other bishops to the bicentennial Eucharistic Congress in Philidelphia in 1976. They then toured several Polonia centers in the US and Canada. He presided over two solemn masses at St. Casimir’s and stayed in the rectory while in town. To show his gratitude, Cardinal Wojtyla gifted the parish with an authentic oil painting of the crowned Black Madonna. He of course went on to become Pope John Paul II and eventually St. John Paul.
Photo Credits: St. Casimir website
What Next?
In 2011, St. Casimir’s was named an oratory and the parishioners were to merge with Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish in Cheektowaga. Fr. Czeslaw Krysa became the rector at that time. Through his work at the parish, one year later the status was changed to a church of particular use, providing for the care of the faithful, particularly those of Polish descent. This is a new one on me. A church of particular use means that an ecclesiastical community that will protect certain traditions of a church. I believe in this case, that means Polish Catholic Traditions.
When you have time, take a look at the St. Casimir Blog. It is obvious that they are keeping the Polish Catholic traditions alive!
My Impressions
The first time I went to St. Casimir Church was one of those Lenten ‘mass mobs’ I mentioned in the Introduction to this series. It was on Palm Sunday. I was awestruck by the interior of the church. If you read my blog regularly, you know that occasionally I see something that instantly transforms me into a tourist in my own city. The interior of St. Casimir’s is definitely one of those places. It’s uncommon though, that it became such a spiritual experience for me.
Photo Credit: Am-Pol Eagle
The air was thick with incense. The procession of palms was long and exuberant. The priest at the end of the procession was smiling and laughing with congregants. I think he tapped his huge palm leaves on every single child in the church before the procession ended! I’ve only been completely swept away at mass a handful of times in my life. But this was one of those times. The mass was just under two hours and I didn’t even realize it until the end.
I walked out of there that Palm Sunday, ready to move to Kaisertown and register at St. Casimir.
But alas, my husband loves our house and I kind of like him, so we stayed put. But I will never forget St. Casimir. This series of ‘church visits’ has renewed my desire to visit other churches more regularly. When this crisis is over that is.
Where is it?
St. Casimir’s Parish is located at 160 Cable Street in Kaisertown. Visit their website for mass times. This is the church we visited when we found Lucky’s on Clinton. Been going there ever since. As a matter of fact, it’s how I’ll get my husband to go to mass at Casimir’s soon. 😉
Join me tomorrow when we will be moving a couple of miles north to ‘visit’ St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy.
I hope you are enjoying these posts, and I sincerely hope that you are all well in mind, body and soul. Peace be with you.
Lead image photo credit: St. Casimir’s website
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Thank you for joining us for another “church visit” in my series about the Holy Thursday Tradition of Visiting Seven Churches. If you missed my introduction post explaining all about the tradition and my interest in it, you can access it here. I’ll list the links to the other posts in this series at the end of this article.
In the introduction post on Thursday, I mentioned that visiting the seven churches is an old familytradition for me andSt. Adalbert’s is one we always visited back in the day. Which explains why I’ve included it here.
Early St. Adalbert’s Church
St. Adalbert’s was the second church built in Old Polonia in Buffalo, St. Stan’s being the first. This was during the same time that St. Stanislaus was growing by leaps and bounds. Remember that St. Stan’s eventually had 20,000 members!
There is some evidence that there were factions of St. Stan’s congregation who were not big fans of the longtime pastor, Rev. John (Jan) Pitass. St. Adalbert’s website mentions it; St. Stan’s does not, although they do mention the building and opening of St. Adalbert’s. Whether it’s true or not, the fact remains that many parishioners in the area were unhappy with the crowded conditions of St. Stan’s. Not to mention that many parishioners had to travel upwards of two miles to attend mass. Not so easy for people who were forced to walk. Especially in winter.
Trouble from the Beginning
From the beginning though, parishioners of St. Adalbert’s were known for their infighting. Their early history is fraught with discord over land ownership, specifically whether the diocese owned the property or whether the parishioners did. They didn’t like that their first pastor, Rev. Anthony Klawiter, was first an associate at St. Stan’s, and therefore they assumed he was under the thumb of Fr. John Pitass, which of course they took exception to. And, they fought among themselves over all sorts of matters.
This is quite the complex. Photo credit: Rev. Thaddeus Glowacki
Nevertheless, the congregants themselves built the first wooden building on the site, referred to as ‘The Little Chapel’ and it served as both church and schoolhouse. While building the chapel, the parishioners realized it needed to be larger. As a result, they acquired more land and began a combination building even before they celebrated their first mass in the Little Chapel. This was in September, 1886. The newer, larger church was dedicated in April 24, 1887.
Fr. Klawiter had a master plan for the church. He acquired even more land and hoped to build a home for the elderly as well as a park. But in 1889 a fire which destroyed the church resulted in the abandonment of that plan. It is said that the relationship between Klawiter and the congregation had gotten even worse, and he left St. Adalbert’s at that time.
A Succession of Pastors
The dome. Photo Credit: WNY Heritage Magazine
St. Adalbert’s went through a succession of pastors over the next several years, but managed to build the church we know today. It was dedicated in July of 1891. No small feat amidst the infighting that continued to take place among the parishioners.
Jozef Mazur, a local artisan painter, decorated the interior of the church.
The murals by Jozef Mazur Photo credit: St. Adalbert’s website
In March of 1895, the Rev. Thomas Flaczek arrived as new pastor. A faction of the congregation greeted him by removing all the doors and windows of the rectory. In March! Can you imagine? Flaczek retreated to St. Stan’s where he directed the affairs of the church until July of that same year, when that faction broke away from St. Adalbert’s, the diocese and the Pope by starting their own church, Holy Mother of the Rosary Polish National Church.
Finally the congregation and Fr. Fraczek settled into a peaceful existence. A school to accommodate 1000 students was built, as was a new rectory. In 1907, Pope Pius X elevated St. Adalbert’s to the rank of minor basilica. There is not much information out there about why the Pope made his decision to do this, but there is no dispute that he did it, as the letters are on display in the church museum. It was the first church given this distinction in the country. Another Buffalo first. Cool.
The Declineof St. Adalbert’s
At this point, I’m sure you know what’s coming. After the Second World War, the declining populations of mid-size cities like Buffalo is well documented. Once overcrowded church pews sat largely empty on Sundays. Between 2005 and 2011, the diocese either closed or merged over 100 Catholic churches. St. Adalbert’s was among the mergers. They were to close and merge with St. John Kanty Church on Broadway.
At Christmas, so beautiful. Photo credit: St. Adalbert’s website
The congregation appealed directly to the Vatican. It took four years, but Pope Benedict made the decision that the congregation would merge with St. John Kanty, but the church would remain in the diocese as an oratory. My understanding of an oratory is that it’s a place which is kept for special occasions such as weddings, funerals, or special masses. This is where it stands today.
According to their website, the last mass to be held at St. Adalbert’s was Christmas Eve, 2019. I’m am quite sure they would have been open for Holy Thursday visits if not a mass of the last supper, and for the Triduum, had all the churches not been closed due to the coronavirus. Which everyone reading this knows all too well.
When the school closed in 1985, the Felician Sister’s who ran it, embarked upon a new form of pastoral care – The St. Adalbert’s Response to Love Ministry, which serves the entire neighborhood.
In 2016, the parish rectory was transformed into the Mother Teresa Home. It is a refuge for pregnant women and is run by the Diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities.
My Impressions
Since I was a little girl, I have always loved the icon pictured below. Note the crossed keys towards the top. It signifies the church as a basilica.
The church itself makes me feel warm and welcome. Which is how I feel about St. Adalbert’s overall. I was very surprised to learn about the early infighting that took place here. Although I did know about the founding of the Polish National church in Buffalo. I have a great uncle who was disowned for marrying a girl who was a Polish National. I never met him. So, all the infighting is believable to me. Stubbornness runs deep in some people.
Stop at St. Adalbert’s on a special occasion when you can. It’s located at 212 Stanislaus Street in Old Polonia, in Buffalo.
So, I think tomorrow we’ll visit St. John Kanty to see where all the good people of St. Adalbert’s ended up.
I hope you are enjoying these posts, and I sincerely hope that you are all well in mind, body and soul. Peace be with you.
**Lead image photo credit: St. Adalbert’s website.
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Welcome to the second of seven “church visits” in my series about the Holy Thursday Tradition of Visiting Seven Churches. If you missed my introduction post explaining all about the tradition and my interest in it, you can access it here. If you missed the first of the seven posts, about Ss. Columba-Brigid’s Church, you can access that here.
Our second virtual visit is to St. Stanislaus Church, located in the heart of Old Polonia in Buffalo. The story of St. Stan’s is heavily interwoven with the story of Buffalo’s early Polish immigrants.
Early Life at St. Stan’s
The city of Buffalo was growing by leaps and bounds all through the 1800’s and early 1900’s. The latter half of the 19th century saw a huge influx of European immigrants. One of them, Joseph Bork, owned a large tract of land on the East Side. He noted that many Polish immigrants came to Buffalo, but only stopped on their way further west. He felt that if there were a Polish church here in the city, they would stay. So Bork donated a prime piece of land to the Diocese. It was to be used for a Polish Church and school. It was located at the corner of Peckham and Townsend Streets.
The Diocese recruited Polish immigrant Fr. John Pitass to be the first pastor of the new congregation. In 1873 a wooden church structure was built and dedicated. The school opened a year later. In 1881 the Felician Sisters were brought from Poland to teach at the school. This immediately grew the school, and between 1881 & 1882, the parish doubled in size. St. Stanislaus Church quickly became the center of Polish-American life in Buffalo.
Some of these homes were likely built by Joseph Bork. Photo Credit: Poloniamusic.com
Apparently Joseph Bork was right. The Poles were now staying, in great numbers. He constructed housing for the newly arrived Poles. Upon learning that most of the immigrants arriving were sending money back to their families in Poland, in order to secure their passage to Buffalo, Bork began to build two story homes. This enabled families to buy a home, rent out half of it, and when family arrived from Poland, they already had a place for them to live. Some might think Bork an opportunist, but you could also make the argument that he gave the people both what they wanted, and what they needed.
A New, Larger Church
One year later, 1883, construction began on a new, larger church. The first floor was completed later that year and the bulk of the building was finished by 1886. A four story school was built in 1890. That’s pretty large. By 1908 the steeples and the bells were added.
Photo Credit: W.L. Scheider Photography
Same Holy Week altar of repose, different years.
At one point the church counted among it’s congregation 20,000 Buffalonians! Can you imagine that today? Wow!
The Peter J. Adamski Social Hall was built in 1960. Between the years 2003 and 2009, extensive renovations were undertaken, on both the interior and exterior of the entire church complex.
The school held on until 2008, when enrollment dipped to 75 students, and after 127 years it closed. The Felician sisters staffed it until the end.
Photo Credit: Unknown
My Impressions
Whenever I go into St. Stan’s, I am always struck by the incredible beauty. I really feel the presence of the Polish people who built this church. Although my father’s family were never members of this church, it takes me back to my Polish roots. There is a real feeling of Polonia here.
Then again, maybe this church feeds into my historic daydreaming tendencies! Either way, it’s my impression of St. Stan’s!
The church is now a shrine to St. Stanislaus and all Polish Martyrs as well as a Polish Cultural Center. The church is open, with a regular mass schedule available on their website. It’s located at 389 Peckham Street on Buffalo’s East Side (Old Polonia). I hope you can find time to go and see it when our churches reopen.
Join us tomorrow, when I will bring you the story of the first basilica in the country. Psst…it’s in Buffalo!
I hope you are enjoying these posts, and I sincerely hope that you are all well in mind, body and soul. Peace be with you.
**Lead image photo credit: poloniamusic.om
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This post is the first of eight in my series about the Catholic tradition of visiting Seven Churches on Holy Thursday. It serves as an introduction to the seven daily posts to follow. Each of those will be about a visit to one church, with the idea of the last post falling on Holy Thursday to complete the series.
The Tradition
Let’s talk about the tradition, what it’s all about, and how it got started. So, Holy Thursday is the feast day where Catholics celebrate the last supper. The priest takes the Eucharist off the main altar at the close of the mass, and places it on an altar of repose, away from the main altar of the church.
In the bible, it’s after the last supper that Jesus begins his journey to the cross. He visits seven ‘stations’, or places, before being condemned to death. These are not to be confused with the 14 “Stations of the Cross”. The seven stations include:
Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus is bound and taken before Annas
He (Jesus) is taken to the High Priest, Caiaphas
Jesus is taken to Pilate
He (Jesus) is taken to Herod
Jesus is taken to Pilate again
Jesus is given the crown of thorns and led away to be crucified
Basically, these stations are every place Jesus went after the last supper, up to and including receiving the crown of thorns. The tradition of visiting seven churches on this night is waiting for the crucifixion. Catholics carry on this tradition of waiting, as Jesus asked his disciples to wait in the garden, and afterwards as the disciples waited for the crucifixion.
At each church in turn Catholics kneel before the altar of repose, and meditate on the ‘station’. So, at the first church you meditate about Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. At the second church, you meditate on Jesus being bound and taken before Annas, and so on.
That’s basically it in a nutshell. Now, while you’re reading these posts, I don’t want you to feel any pressure. For me, this is nostalgic as well as religious. But if you want, just read the stories of the churches and take a look at the photos. I’m only hoping these posts give you a few minutes of peace during this very stressful time.
Let’s Get Personal For a Minute
As a child, every year, my father would take us to visit seven churches on Good Friday morning. We didn’t go on Thursday night after the mass of the last supper, because my father worked afternoons. I don’t remember my mother ever coming with us. Probably either because her family never practiced the tradition, or she probably needed the house quiet so she could prepare for Easter Sunday. There were five of us kids (#6 came along later on), so it seems plausible that the latter was the case.
Dad and us kids, somewhere around 1970. That’s me in the hoodie eyeing up what is probably a sour ball hard candy in my sister’s hand.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that my father grew up on the East Side in the Broadway/Fillmore neighborhood. He considers himself to be of 100% Polish descent. It’s what we’ve heard our whole lives from his parents, aunts and uncles. And it’s entirely possible, as Ancestry.com has me at 57% ‘Eastern European’.
I mention my Polish roots because Poland is one of the countries where this tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday is big. I mean really big. And it’s pretty big here in Buffalo too.
The Tradition of Visiting Seven Churches Continues
My family eventually got away from our ‘Good Friday pilgrimages’. But about 15 years ago, we picked it back up and started doing it again. My parents came along too. Later on, extended family joined in. Driving between East Side churches, my Dad would tell stories of his childhood. We used walkie talkies one year so the people not driving with him could hear his stories. Dad’s a great storyteller.
One year, my sister Kate (#6) mentioned that it was a shame that we’d been visiting these churches our whole lives, but had never attended mass at any of them. So, we started our own little mass mob. Before mass mobs were a thing. Each Sunday in lent, we’d attend mass at a different East Side church. Afterwards, we’d do something social, like go out to breakfast in the neighborhood of whatever church we were at that week. Various people joined us on various weeks. It was a lot of fun! (And we discovered Lucky’s on Clinton too!)
The Covid-19 Crisis Closes Churches
Covid-19 has certainly changed all of our lives. Not being able to attend masshas been a big change for an awful lot of people. Look, I know there are a lot of you reading this who have a problem with the Catholic Church. But there are many, many faithful Catholics in the Buffalo area.
I have been visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday evening for five years or so now. The last three on the Holy Roll – a take on Buffalo’s Slow Roll – travelling to each church on bikes, headed up by Fr. Jud Weiksnar and some of his friends. And this is why I have decided to write these posts.
Our Buffalo churches are treasures. Both spiritually and architecturally, and in art. I once heard someone say that some of Buffalo’s churches rival the great churches of Europe. So even if you’re not Catholic, or religious, you will be able to appreciate the history (which I will tell you) and the photos of each of these treasures.
Try to keep in mind that although I’ve taken photos of these churches over the years, I am not able to go back and get the good shots I normally try to bring you in my posts. Perhaps I’ll have to make a point to do it when the churches reopen, and come back and add more photos later. Hmmm, another thing to put on my list of things to do when the lockdown ends.
Join us tomorrow for the first church, SS. Columba-Brigid.
I hope you enjoy these posts, and I sincerely hope that you are all well in mind, body and soul. Peace be with all of you.
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