Diocese of Buffalo makes recommendations for closures and mergers in Southtowns and Southern Tier

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Diocese of Buffalo announced its recommendations for southern Erie County and the eastern portion of the Southern Tier during a meeting at St. John Paul II in Lake View Thursday evening.

The Southern Tier recommendations were initially made at a meeting in Olean on June 3.

The recommendations follow the diocese’s decision to “right-size and reshape” its parishes due to financial problems related to payments to settle child sexual abuse cases, declining Mass attendance and a shortage of priests.

At least 13 parishes in the Southtowns were affected, as well as several in the eastern part of the Southern Tier.

The list of affected parishes now stands at more than 60 as of Thursday evening. The parishes affected Thursday evening can be seen below.

Southern Erie County

Family #7

• Saint John XXIII (Western Seneca): merge with the Queen of Heaven (Western Seneca) and close.
• St. John Vianney (Orchard Park): merge with Queen of Heaven and close. The school will remain open.

Family #8

• Saint Josaphat (Cheektowaga): merge with the Queen of Martyrs (Cheektowaga) and close.
• Resurrection (Cheektowaga): merge with Our Lady Help of Christians (Cheektowaga) and close.

Family #9

• Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Depew): merge with Saint Mary of the Assumption (Lancaster) and close.
• Saint Martha (Depew): merge with Saint Philip the Apostle (Cheekowaga) and close. The school will remain open.

Family #26

• Queen of Angels (Lackawanna): merge with Our Lady of Victory (Lackawanna) and close.
• Our Mother of Good Counsel (Blasdell): merge with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Orchard Park) and close.
• Saint Antoine (Lackawanna): merge with Notre-Dame de la Victoire and close.
• Our Lady of Bistrica (Lackawanna): merge with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and close.

Family #28

• Sainte-Bernadette (Orchard Park): merge with SS. Peter and Paul (Hamburg) and close.

Family #29

• St. Anthony (Farnham): merge with Most Precious Blood (Angola) and close.
• Sainte-Marie du Lac (Hamburg): merge with Saint-François d’Assise (Athol Springs) and close.

South level

Family #1

• SS. Brendan and Jude: merger with Immaculate Conception (Wellsville), Almond site to close, Alfred site to remain open.
• Blessed Sacrament (Andover): merge with Immaculate Conception and close.
• Sainte Marie (Bolivar): merge with the Immaculate Conception and close.
• Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Wellsville): merged with Immaculate Conception, will remain as a secondary place of worship.
• Sainte-Marie (Canaseraga): merges with the Immaculate Conception, will remain as a secondary place of worship.

Family #24

• Saint-Jean (Olean): merge with Sainte-Marie des Anges (Olean). The school will remain open.

Family #33

• St. Jude (Sardinia): merge with St. Aloysius (Springville) and close.
• St. Mary (Arcade): East Arcade worship site closed.
• Saint-Jean-Baptiste (West Valley): merge with Saint-Aloysius and close.

The diocese said the actual number of merged parishes will not be determined until its leaders have a chance to review the proposed recommendations. Parishes have until July 15 to make a counter-proposal.

The full list of mergers and closures is expected to be finalized by September 1, with changes beginning in October.

To see News 4’s complete coverage of the restructuring of the Diocese of Buffalo, click here. To see the full list of affected facilities in Western New York, click here.