OLV and Unitarian Universalist Church Secure Conservation Grants

Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica on Ridge Road in Lackawanna received a $40,000 grant to help fund the cost of replacing its copper dome. The 50-year-old conservatory also awarded $9,000 to the Buffalo Unitarian Universalist Church in Elmwood Village to help fund the repair of stained glass windows and the installation of new protective glazing.

OLV recently received historic designation from the U.S. Department of the Interior as well as New York State, which gives the church the authority to apply for preservation funds and grants to maintain and maintain the basilica.

“We are thrilled,” said John Pitts, director of communications and marketing for Our Lady of Victory. “We are celebrating the centennial of OLV, so this marks the 100th anniversary of Father (Nelson) Baker building the basilica. He built it from 1921 to 1925, and we reflect that with various programs and projects at OLV during the same period, from 2021 to 2025.”

Designed by Cleveland, Ohio-based architect Emile Ulrich, the Georgia marble-clad basilica was completed in 1926. It is the second church built on the site, after OLV replaced the St. Patrick’s Church following a fire in 1916 which severely damaged the structure.

Father Baker led a national campaign to raise $3.5 million to build the copper-domed church that was second in size to the United States Capitol building in Washington, DC.

The dome features four 20-foot-tall copper statues of angels placed above the corners of the transept, according to the New York Landmarks Conservancy.

Our Lady of Victory reaches approximately 14,500 people each year through its activities and services, including OLV Human Services, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, OLV Elementary School and a weekly Alcoholics Anonymous group. Additionally, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra holds periodic concerts inside the basilica.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo consists of two buildings and a landscaped garden at Elmwood Avenue and West Ferry Street. The church reaches about 400 people outside of its membership through activities and organizations that include dance classes, the anti-hunger group Food not Bombs, a Girl Scout troop, and groups supporting banned books and grief.

“We are pleased that our (latest) grants will help these diverse congregations maintain their buildings and continue to serve their communities with social services and cultural programs,” Conservancy President Peg Breen said in a press release . “These 14 congregations reach a total of 60,000 people beyond their congregations with free or low-cost services. »

The Landmarks Conservancy has loaned and granted more than $62 million, leveraging nearly $1 billion in nearly 2,000 restoration projects across New York State.