Diocese to announce closing of Catholic churches in Kendall and Middleport
St. Rocco’s Festival grounds will remain with ONE Catholic
Photos by Tom Rivers: St. Stephen’s Catholic Church will be closed and sold as part of plan by the Diocese of Buffalo to restructure parishes.
Diocese of Buffalo leaders this morning will announce the final decisions on which parishes and other properties will be closed and sold.
Bishop Michael Fisher is expected to announce the recommendations from June will be final for Orleans and eastern Niagara, which includes closing and selling St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Kendall and St. Stephen’s in Middleport.
The church in Lyndonville was badly damaged in a fire last year, with the church building then razed. The Diocese will sell the former rectory and property in Lyndonville, according to an announcement posted last evening from Father Mark Noonan, pastor of ONE Catholic which includes Orleans and eastern Niagara churches.
“These decisions have been difficult to countenance and consider over the last few months since we received the Recommendations from the Road to Renewal Team,” Father Noonan posted in a message to the community. “It is painful to lose things that we have known, loved and treasured. Our Churches are sacred places that have been blessed by God through the Church in order to enable us to be with the Lord in the celebration of the Sacraments. It is sorrowful to let go of them. And in the same moment, we know and trust that God, who is ever faithful, will guide us in his pathways and always be with us in the Holy Eucharist.”
Bocce is played on Sept. 1 during the St. Rocco’s Italian Festival in Hulberton. The event draws a crowd of several hundred people for food, bocce, and other activities, in an popular fundraiser for the Catholic parish. The Diocese backed off an early recommendation to sell the grounds.
The Diocese switched one of its recommendations for ONE Catholic. The Diocese was planning to sell the St. Rocco’s festival grounds in Hulberton. But the final plan calls for ONE Catholic to keep it. That will be a relief to the Holley community, which celebrated the 49th St. Rocco’s Italian Festival on Sept. 1.
The other church in ONE Catholic, St. Patrick’s in Barker, will move out of ONE Catholic and into a family of parishes in central Niagara.
Father Noonan said the transitions will take place at various times between Oct. 1 and June 8, 2025. The specific dates have not been set, he said.
“Now having received these decisions, we will move forward with God’s help and grace,” Father Noonan said. “I will continue to provide information on this process in the weeks ahead. As the ONE Catholic Community, we will deepen our mission of faith, charity, evangelization, and stewardship in this portion of the Vineyard of the Lord.”
