Holy Family (Diocese of Buffalo, Albion)
| Holy Family | |
 | |
| Dedication: | Holy Family |
| Type/Classification: | Territorial Parish |
| Non-Parochial: | No |
| Operated By: | Diocesan clergy |
| Venerated Saints: | None specified |
| Diocese: | Diocese of Buffalo |
| Deanery: | |
| Address: | 106 S Main St., Albion, New York 14411-1499 |
| City: | Albion, NY |
| Subdivision: | New York |
| Country: | United States |
| County: | Orleans County |
| Website: | Website |
| Founded: | 2007 |
| School: | No |
| Email: | None specified |
| AI Confidence: | 6/10 |
| Review Level: | 0/5 |
Holy Family Parish is a territorial parish of the Diocese of Buffalo located in Albion, New York, the seat of Orleans County. Dedicated to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the parish today forms part of ONE Catholic, the Orleans-Eastern Niagara Catholic Community grouping of parishes within the diocese.
Holy Family Parish was established in 2007 through the merger of two of Albion's historic Catholic congregations: St. Joseph's Parish, founded in 1852 to serve the village's Irish Catholic settlers, and St. Mary's Assumption Parish, founded in 1891 to serve Albion's growing Polish Catholic community. The present parish worships at 106 South Main Street, the site long associated with St. Joseph's.
As a merged territorial parish, Holy Family carries forward more than a century and a half of Catholic life in Orleans County, uniting the pastoral heritage of two distinct immigrant communities under a single parish identity.
History
Catholic life in Albion began with St. Joseph's Parish, founded in 1852 to serve the area's Irish Catholic immigrants, making it one of the older Catholic congregations in Orleans County.[1] By 1890, St. Joseph's had grown to include roughly 200 Polish Catholic families, for whom Father Castaldi established a mission within the parish, using the chapel of St. Joseph's School as a temporary base.[2]
In 1891, Bishop Stephen Vincent Ryan of Buffalo appointed Rev. Bartholomew Swinko, transferred from St. Casimir's Parish in Elmira, to lead the new Polish congregation. St. Mary's Assumption Parish was formally established on August 12, 1891, with Joseph Cichocki and Stephen Daniels serving as its first trustees.[3] Father Swinko secured a lot at the corner of Brown and Moore Streets, and the cornerstone for the new church was laid on August 15, 1892; the brick church, trimmed in Medina sandstone, was completed in early 1893 at a cost of roughly $19,000.[4]
For over a century, St. Joseph's and St. Mary's Assumption operated as separate parishes serving Albion's Irish and Polish Catholic communities, respectively. In 2007, amid diocesan-wide restructuring across the Diocese of Buffalo, the two parishes were merged to form Holy Family Parish, consolidating Catholic worship in Albion into a single territorial parish.[5] The former St. Mary's Assumption church building was subsequently sold in 2011 and became home to another congregation, while Holy Family Parish continued to worship at the historic St. Joseph's site on South Main Street.[6]
In more recent years, Holy Family Parish has become part of ONE Catholic, a grouping of Catholic parishes across Orleans and Eastern Niagara Counties formed under diocesan renewal planning.[7]
Special features
- Continuation of Catholic worship traditions from both the former St. Joseph's and St. Mary's Assumption parishes
- Participation in the ONE Catholic grouping of parishes serving Orleans and Eastern Niagara Counties
Relics
According to established Catholic tradition, the main altar of a dedicated Catholic church typically contains deposited relics. Specific details regarding relics housed at Holy Family Parish are not documented in publicly available sources.
Architecture and Art
Exterior features
The parish worships in the historic church building associated with the former St. Joseph's Parish on South Main Street in Albion. Detailed architectural documentation specific to the current Holy Family church building is not available in public sources.
Interior features
Specific details on the interior layout and furnishings of the current Holy Family church are not publicly documented.
Stained Glass Windows
The former St. Mary's Assumption church, one of Holy Family's predecessor parishes, was noted for stained glass windows executed by the Frohe studio of Buffalo depicting the life of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the windows and murals refreshed during a redecoration in the 1940s and 1950s.[8] These windows remained in the former St. Mary's building, which is no longer part of Holy Family Parish; no confirmed information is available regarding stained glass currently in use at the present Holy Family church.
Statues and Sculptures
No specific information on statuary at the current Holy Family church is documented in available sources.
Other Artwork
Murals by artist Joseph Mazur, including depictions of the Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek and the Sacrifice of Isaac, once decorated the former St. Mary's Assumption church during the mid-twentieth century redecoration.[9] As that building is no longer used by the parish, no confirmed artwork specific to the current Holy Family church site is documented in available sources.
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Media
No media found for this saint.
Related parishes
- St. Teresa of Avila (Diocese of Buffalo)
- St. Mary Assumption (Diocese of Buffalo)
- St. John the Baptist (Diocese of Buffalo, Alden)
- Sts. Brendan and Jude (Diocese of Buffalo)
- St. Bonaventure (Diocese of Buffalo)
- St. Leo the Great (Diocese of Buffalo)
- Blessed Sacrament (Diocese of Buffalo, Andover)
- Most Precious Blood (Diocese of Buffalo)
- Sts. Peter and Paul (Diocese of Buffalo, Arcade)
- St. Francis of Assisi (Diocese of Buffalo, Athol Springs)
- St. Vincent de Paul (Diocese of Buffalo, Attica)
- St. Patrick (Diocese of Buffalo, Barker)
- Sacred Heart of Jesus (Diocese of Buffalo, New York)
- St. Anthony (Diocese of Buffalo, Batavia)
- St. Joseph (Diocese of Buffalo, Batavia)
- St. Mary (Diocese of Buffalo, Batavia)
- St. Patrick (Diocese of Buffalo, Belfast)
- Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Diocese of Buffalo)
- Our Lady of Lourdes (Diocese of Buffalo)
- Bennington Center (Diocese of Buffalo)
- St. Brigid (Diocese of Buffalo)
- Our Mother of Good Counsel (Diocese of Buffalo)
- St. Mary (Diocese of Buffalo, Bolivar)
- St. John the Baptist (Diocese of Buffalo, Boston)
- St. Patrick (Diocese of Buffalo, Brocton)
External links
Social media
| Official Social Media |
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References
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.
- ↑ "Our Churches". ONE Catholic. https://www.onecatholic.org/our-churches-1.
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.
- ↑ "St. Mary's Assumption Roman Catholic Church". Polonia Trail. http://poloniatrail.com/location/st-marys-assumption-roman-catholic-church/.