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| Address: | 284 Broad St. Salamanca, N.Y. 14779 |
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| Telephone: | 716-945-4966 | |
| Founded: | Dec. 1892 | |
| Pastor: | Rev Joseph Porpiglia | |
| Mass Schedule: | Sat. 4 PM; Sunday 8 & 11 AM | |
| Parish census: | 400 Families | |
| School: | Parish school closed in 1970 | |
| Year Built: | 1924 | |
| Style: | Red brick in the Gothic style with a 120 ft spire | |
| LDS Microfilm: | FHL US/CAN Film 1324466 |
In Cattaraugus County on the banks of the Allegany River lies the city of Salamanca, New York. This community sprang up around the logging business and tanneries founded there. Poles began arriving to the area by the 1880s and became members of the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Patrick. It was in 1892 when Jakob Rozan, while on a political campaign, stopped in Salamanca, came across the Poles and listened to their plight. St. Patrick's parish had assessed each family $50. in order to build a parish school. The Poles and newcomers, were not financially able or willing to contribute. It was Rozan's suggestion to pool their monies and establish their own parish. He would ask Rev Jan Pitass of St. Stanislaus parish in Buffalo to assist. It is thought that the meeting was held in June 1892, at which time Rev. Pitass and Jakob Rozan met with the Salamanca Poles to discuss plans for founding a Polish parish there. Bishop Ryan, gave permission for a new parish and sent the Rev. Piotr Basinski to assist in this endeavor. A year later the first wooden church was completed and dedicated to the Holy Cross. Shortly after the church project was finished, a parish school was planned and built. Staffed first by laymen, the Felician Sister arrived to begin teaching in 1906, during the pastorate of Rev. Wladyslaw Bartkowski, and continued until the school closed in 1970. The peak years for attendance were the 1930s, with over 300 students. It was during this era of growth that the parish decided to build a larger and fire proof church.
Under the able direction of Rev. Wojciech Cichy, the present day red brick church was constructed. The final cost of building and furnishing the church was over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. During the pastorate of Rev. Stanislaus Bubacz a great deal of the debt was paid, but the final mortgage payment was made by Rev. Bronislaw Majerowski in 1948. Despite difficult times in late 1930 and early 1940, he managed to steer the parish clear of the debt. The 1960s were particularly hard for Holy Cross. A decline in membership affected the school; a decision was made to close it in 1970, with the few students given the option to attend St. Patrick's. Catholic elementary education came to a halt in Salamanca in 1989, when the Diocese of Buffalo closed the combined Salamanca Catholic Academy, leaving the closest catholic school in Olean, N.Y. The fourteenth pastor of Holy Cross, Rev Constantine Kwiatkowski, arrived to Salamanca from North Tonawanda, N.Y. in Oct 1967 and has been pastor for 32 years, retiring in 1999.