Diocese says fire-damaged Catholic church in Lyndonville won’t be repaired

Photos by Tom Rivers: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is shown on Feb. 28 after a fire caused extensive damage, particularly in the rear of the building.

LYNDONVILLE – The Diocese of Buffalo announced today that St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lyndonville will not be rebuilt following a fire on Feb. 28 that caused extensive damage to the site at 36 Lake Ave.

The decision announced today follows “a period of consultation with diocesan officials, the pastor and parish leaders from Our Lady of the Lake worship site and its Family of Parishes,” the Diocese said in a news release.

The church and the attached structure will be demolished, said Diocesan spokesman Joe Martone.

“We don’t have a timeframe on when that will happen,” Martone said.

Firefighters were dispatched to the church at 3:41 away with a passerby seeing flames shooting out from the back of the building. The fire started in a classroom structure attached to the church. There was smoke and water damage throughout much of the building.

The pews were covered in soot and soggy insulation from the fire. The walls peeled and the former white interior turned gray and black after the fire.

No Masses have been observed at the site since the fire with St. Joseph’s parishioners welcomed at Catholic churches in Medina and Barker.

“The event of this fire was both shocking and saddening for all of us,” said Pastor Mark Noonan, who leads the family of Catholic churches in Orleans County and eastern Niagara. “We love our churches. Over the course of the past few months, it became apparent that St. Joseph’s worship site could not be sustained long-term, and thus we could not responsibly take the step of rebuilding it following the fire. I know that our entire Catholic community in Eastern Niagara and Orleans counties, Family of Parishes #11, is here to come together and to build one another up in the grace and life of the Holy Spirit.”

St, Mary’s in Medina and St. Patrick’s in Barker will begin to create appropriate memorials honoring St. Joseph’s, the Diocese said.

St, Mary’s is about a 10-minute drive from Lyndonville while St. Patrick’s is about 15 minutes away.

As a result of the pastoral planning process, St. Patrick’s in Barker was linked and then merged with St. Joseph’s in Lyndonville on March 30, 2009. The merged parish was then named Our Lady of the Lake.