Administrators of Our Lady of Perpetual Help hold public meeting

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — “This is our church. »

It’s a message that resonates throughout the Catholic community, as the diocese continues to formulate its recommendations for reshaping and restructuring parishes in Western New York.

The overhaul recommendations have been heartbreaking for many in the Catholic faith.

A group of parishioners at a south Buffalo church sought to take matters into their own hands.

PREVIOUS STORY: “We need this church”: fight to save Our Lady of Perpetual Help following recommendations from the Diocese of Buffalo

They tell me their plan to try to save their sacred site, which they consider their home.

“I hope we can save him. I just don’t know if we can,” said Diane Trigilio, a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

A crowd of parishioners at Our Lady of Perpetual Help expressed their concerns about the fate of their beloved church.

Many were moved as they shared the history they have with this 127-year-old sacred site.

Others were disappointed by the idea of ​​letting a historic church dissolve.

“I feel like I’m at home here. I love this church. I love the community and it breaks my heart. It really hurts a lot to see this happen,” Trigilio added.

Trigilio said: “I would be heartbroken to see it go. Have you been in the church? Our windows are beautiful, our altars are beautiful. It’s 127 years old. How can you tear something like that down? “

His concern is not only for the parish and the church itself, but also for the community action it provides to people in need.

Trigilio said: “It would be sad to see nothing. Where are our elderly people going who don’t drive? Where are they going to go? What is going to happen to all the new people moving in. I see people who are They’re moving all the time. Where are they going to go? There’s no church.”

Thursday will take place the 7th and final meeting of the vicariate of the Catholic diocese.

This meeting will cover southern Erie.

On Wednesday, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo released its plan of recommended mergers and closures for the Genesee/Wyoming area. This list can be found here.