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| Address: | 15 Sumner Street Batavia, N.Y. 14020 |
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| Telephone: | 716-343-1796 | |
| Fax: | 716-344-3752 | |
| Founded: | Sep 1904 | |
| Pastor: | Rev. Eugene Slomba | |
| Mass Schedule: | Saturdays 5 PM ; Sundays 8 & 10:30 AM | |
| Parish census: | 405 Families | |
| School: | School Closed in 1974 | |
| Year Built: | 1954 | |
| Style: | Redbrick |
The first Poles to colonize the Batavia area were small in number and arrived as early as 1880. The Catholic parish of St. Joseph was their place of worship, with a Polish priest coming annually to hear confession. In the early part of the 20th century their numbers were beginning to grow. By 1904 there were about 50 families living and working in the community. The Bishop of Buffalo, after receiving a petition from the Batavia committee, sent the Rev. Piotr Pitass to canvass the area and make a report on the status of the Poles in Batavia. Recommending a parish be founded, Pitass was then appointed first pastor and organizer of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish.
Late that year, Rev. Pitass purchased a home on S. Jackson Street and Kibbe for $4,500 and the congregation remolded it for their own church with the upper floor used as a rectory. A barn located on the property was then transformed into a parish school and parish auditorium. Laymen instructed the small band of students until the arrival of the Felician Sisters in 1918. Under the third pastor's administration, land was purchased on Swan and Sumner for a new parish church. The location was chosen since it was more central for the parishioners. Being a small parish, funds were also tight. It was decided to build a basement church with a two room school above it.
This project was completed in 1919, just after the close of WWI. It was the intention of the parishioners to enlarge the facility as time went on, but funds were always lacking. From 1929 till 1953, the parish was guided by the Rev. Stanislaw Cichowski; it was during his term as pastor that the Tonawanda Creek overflowed and flooded the entire area around it. Sacred Heart Church was completely destroyed and because of this for the next 12 years the parishioners worshipped in the parish hall Father had built. A new pastor, Rev. Aleksander Jankowski, appointed in 1953, immediately began plans to build a new new church and separate school.
In late 1954, they were blessed and ready for use. Other pastors built the present rectory and convent for the Sisters. In 1974, during the pastorate of Fr. Skupien, the parish schools in Batavia were mergered. A social center was built for parish functions and other improvements made to the church properties. The present pastor is Rev. Slomba.