St. Leo the Great (Diocese of Buffalo)

From Saintapedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search


St. Leo the Great
Dedication: St. Leo the Great
Type/Classification: Territorial Parish
Non-Parochial: No
Operated By: Diocesan clergy
Venerated Saints: None specified
Diocese: Diocese of Buffalo
Deanery:
Address: 885 Sweet Home Rd., Amherst, New York 14226-1297
City: Amherst, NY
Subdivision: New York
Country: United States
County: Erie County
Website: Website
Founded: 1953
School: No
Email: None specified
AI Confidence: 8/10
Review Level: 0/5


St. Leo the Great is a territorial parish of the Diocese of Buffalo, located at 885 Sweet Home Road in Amherst, New York, within Erie County. Dedicated to Saint Leo the Great, the fifth-century pope and Doctor of the Church known for his defense of Christological orthodoxy and his meeting with Attila the Hun, the parish serves a suburban community north of the city of Buffalo. It is not a basilica, cathedral, or shrine, and it is not operated by a religious order.

The parish was formally established on June 12, 1953, by Bishop Joseph A. Burke of Buffalo, growing out of the rapid postwar residential development of the Sweet Home Road corridor in the Town of Amherst.[1]

Since its founding, the parish has grown to include an elementary school and more than thirty parish ministries serving families throughout the Amherst area.

History

St. Leo the Great Parish was established on June 12, 1953, by the Most Rev. Joseph A. Burke, Bishop of Buffalo, with Rev. Clatus E. Snyder appointed as the parish's first pastor.[2] In its earliest days, the new parish had no permanent buildings: a small residence at 803 Sweet Home Road was purchased from Santo Billoni for $16,500 to serve as a temporary rectory, twenty acres of land were purchased from Mr. and Mrs. Henry Brummer, and additional land was donated by the Donovan family to provide a future site for a church and school.[3]

The first Mass of the new parish was celebrated in an open field, with subsequent Masses held in the parking lot of the Northtown Plaza shopping center until permanent facilities could be built.[3] Ground was broken on Ascension Day in 1954 for a parish school, which opened that September for children in grades kindergarten through eight. In December of that year, Mass began to be offered in the school's basement chapel, known as the Chapel of the Infant Jesus.[3]

Rev. Patrick J. Dineen became the parish's second pastor in June 1961. A new rectory was completed in 1966, and in the spring of 1970 construction began on the parish's permanent church building, which was dedicated on December 5, 1971.[3] Msgr. Dineen retired in August 1978 at age seventy-five, and Bishop Edward D. Head named Msgr. William McDonnell as the parish's third pastor. Msgr. Robert E. Zapfel was appointed the parish's fourth pastor on April 8, 2002.[3]

Special features

  • An elementary school, Saint Leo the Great Catholic School, offering education from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade
  • More than thirty parish ministries open to parishioners of all ages
  • The Chapel of the Infant Jesus, the school-basement worship space used by the founding parish community before the permanent church was built

Relics

According to established Catholic tradition, the main altar of a dedicated Catholic church contains deposited relics, as is customary. Specific details regarding the saints associated with any relics at St. Leo the Great are not publicly documented in available sources.

Architecture and Art

Exterior features

The current church building was constructed beginning in the spring of 1970 and was dedicated on December 5, 1971, following nearly two decades in which the parish worshiped in temporary and shared spaces.[3] Specific details of the building's architectural design and its architect are not documented in publicly available sources.

Interior features

Detailed descriptions of the sanctuary, seating arrangement, and worship space are not publicly documented in available sources.

Stained Glass Windows

Specific details on the church's stained glass windows are not publicly documented in available sources.

Statues and Sculptures

Devotional imagery within the parish reflects its dedication to Saint Leo the Great, though specific statuary is not publicly documented in available sources.

Other Artwork

No further devotional artwork is publicly documented in available sources.

Image gallery

`

No gallery has been created yet. Type "Gallery" into the input box to create the page, save the page with the loaded template, and then use the Form tab to start adding photos. No gallery subpage has been created. Please use the input box above to create it.

Media

No media found for this saint.

Related parishes

Template:OtherSaintParishes

External links

Social media

Official Social Media

References

  1. ↑ "About St. Leo the Great". St. Leo the Great Parish. https://www.stleothegreatamherst.com/about-st-leo-the-great/. 
  2. ↑ "About St. Leo the Great". St. Leo the Great Parish. https://www.stleothegreatamherst.com/about-st-leo-the-great/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "About St. Leo the Great". St. Leo the Great Parish. https://www.stleothegreatamherst.com/about-st-leo-the-great/. 
Retrieved from "https://dev.saintapedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Leo_the_Great_(Diocese_of_Buffalo)&oldid=58397"