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| Address: | 435 Amherst Street Buffalo, New York 14207 |
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| Telephone: | 716-875-7626 | |
| Web Site: | http://www.broadviewnet.net/assumption/ | |
| Founded: | Sept 1888 | |
| Pastor: | Rev. Richard Jedrzejewski | |
| Mass Schedule: | Sat 8 AM and 4 PM, Sun 9 AM and 11 in English | |
| Parish census: | 1242 families | |
| School: | Combined Our Lady of Black Rock, Sister Francianne Zielezinski CSSF principal |
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| Year Built: | 1914 | |
| Style: | Romanesque | |
| LDS Microfilm: | FHL US/CAN Film 1292804 |
Once a village , Black Rock became a section of the city of Buffalo. The first Poles living in this northern neighborhood were from the Prussian partition of old Poland and had little problem mingling with the dominant German population. With their numbers increasing, especially by non German speaking Poles, the necessity to establish their own parish began to grow. By 1888, a sufficient number of Poles lived in Black Rock supporting their petition to Bishop Ryan for a Polish parish.
In September 1888, the Bishop sent Rev. Teofil Kozlowski to Black Rock to take charge of the Poles living there. Land was purchased along Amherst and Peter Streets for the future site of a church. In January 1889, Bishop Ryan blessed a combination church school building which served for the next 25 years. Rev Kozlowski's pastorate was a rather short one, just three years. It was not until 1901, the year of the Pan American Exposition, that a long term pastor came to Assumption. The Rev. Ludwik Chodacki is credited with securing the Felician Sisters to staff his parish school in 1902 and the building a new convent for the nuns.
It was during the silver anniversary year that talk in earnest began about building a new, larger, and more convenient church. The seventh pastor, Rev Wladyslaw Hordych, undertook the building of the present church. Built in a Romanesque style, the twin-steepled brick church would seat 1,600 people. Because of an increase in parishioners, the new church was needed as well as a new modern school. Hordych soon afterward began the construction of a three story brick school with all the modern conveniences of the day.
Completing these massive projects, Hordych was transferred and replaced by the Rev. Wladyslaw Brejeski, a skilled wood worker but a controversial figure in the history of the parish. This 30 year veteran pastor relieved the parish from the huge building debt. During his term as pastor, the Polish National Church took roots due in part by the exodus of dissatisfied parishioners. A rift in parish life caused years of uncertainty which was noticeable in the financial support of the parish even in times of prosperity. The church properties showed signs of deterioration and neglect, this at a time when the pastor's health was questionable, yet the diocesan authorities did nothing to correct it.
Upon the death of Rev. Brejeski, Msgr Maksymilian Bogacki took charge of the parish in 1961. Faced with financial debts and neglected properties, Msgr. set about to raise a quarter of a million dollars to update and maintain the structures. With this major project done, Bogacki continued to beautify the church by engaging Professors Slawinski and Baranowski to decorate the walls of the church with Scraffitto. As a promoter of Polish culture in WNY, Msgr was a founder and funder of the Permanent Chair of Polish Culture at Canisius College. Rev. Henry Kawalec replaced Msgr Bogacki when he retired in 1974. Under his pastorate the parish celebrated the centennial of its founding with a year long observation. No longer the hub of a thriving Polish American neighborhood, Assumption still retains its Polish traditions into its second hundred years.