More than a dozen at-risk Buffalo churches could be turned into local landmarks

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — As many as 14 churches in the city of Buffalo recommended for closure by the Diocese of Buffalo in recent days could become a local landmark.

Preservation Buffalo Niagara announced Tuesday the launch of the “Save Our Sacred Sites” project, which aims to secure funding and submit applications for historic status for churches deemed at risk.

In recent days, the diocese announced that more than 30 churches in Western New York would be closed or merged as the organization cut from 160 to 106 churches amid a financial crisis due to declining figures, as well as payments to settle cases of child sexual abuse. 15 of the 33 announced so far are within city limits.

“As you can see, the diocese, we can see logically that they made a real estate decision and not a decision based on actual people and their participation in churches,” said Mitch Nowakowski, a member of the District Common Council. Fillmore in Buffalo, during a press conference at Our Lady. of Perpetual Help on O’Connell Street Tuesday. “We have enough people behind me who live here and walk to church every week…Church is for real people. A church has a social responsibility towards the neighborhood around it.

About fifty people who go to mass at Notre-Dame du Perpétuel Secours were present on Tuesday. The church has been a part of the community for decades. In 2014, parishioners raised more than $200,000 to renovate the church. More recently, $30,000 was raised to replace a window.

“It’s not just a church,” said Kathleen Byrns, who has attended Mass there for decades. “It’s what keeps the community together.” If this church disappears, this community that’s thriving, a lot of good things will happen here in the last 10 or 15 years that you never saw coming. You have all this newness, all this freshness. You have this project coming up and you want to get the heart out of it. It does not mean anything.

Several parishioners stressed that the church owes no debt to the diocese and has money in the bank.

“It’s almost like a death in the family,” said parishioner Erin Davison. “It’s a church that a lot of us grew up attending, our grandparents, relatives. My children belong to the sixth or seventh generation.

“My great-grandparents came from Ireland. They settled here,” Patricia Campbell said. “I’m 70 years old, I was baptized here, I’ve lived here all my life. »

Preservation Buffalo Niagara Executive Director Bernice Radle said the hope is to turn the buildings, if closed by the diocese, into community centers or apartments. They would not be allowed to be transformed into restaurants or bars. If local landmark status is approved, any significant changes to the buildings will need to be approved by a local preservation board.

The request may allow churches to allow future owners to use historic tax incentives for redevelopment projects, which has been done for several buildings with historic status in Buffalo.

However, the faithful hope that Our Lady of Perpetual Help can remain a church.

“There are all roots in this community, especially when you meet the people who are part of the roots of this church,” said Michelle Barrett, who has attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help since 2022. “We can’t help but to want to fight with them and for them.”

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