St. Augustine
Depew, New York

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Address: 425 Penora Street
Depew, New York 14043
St Augustine in Depew
Telephone: 716-683-3038
Founded: May 1909
Pastor: Rev Conrad Stachowiak
Mass Schedule: Saturdays 4 PM; Sundays 8:30 AM & 10:30 (signed for deaf) persons)
Parish census: 480 Families
School: Parish school closed in 1975.
Year Built: 1953
Style: Byzantine

History

The Polonia of Depew, N.Y. dates back to the founding of the parish of Sts. Peter & Paul on the north side of the town. With opportunities for jobs and available lots for building, Poles were attracted to the south side of Depew. Their numbers increasing and the distance the children needed to travel to school, especially over busy railroad tracks, prompted the formation of another Polish parish in the town.

In May 1909, the Bishop of Buffalo appointed the young Rev. Antoni Majewski to serve as organizer and first pastor of St. Augustine Roman Catholic Parish. For the next 6 years, Fr. Majewski worked diligently with his parishioners to establish a parish community and was responsible for the building of the parish complex consisting of a combination church/school and separate convent and rectory. During the tenure of the next pastor, Rev. Mieczyslaw Tymek, the number of families in the parish increased to over 300. He also was responsible for the purchase of 34 acres of land for a parish cemetery.

With this steady growth in parishioners, plans were made to build a separate church building. This did not become a reality until 1951, when a bad fire damaged the basement church built in 1917. A new pastor, Rev. Ignacy Wojciechowski, installed in 1952, made the move to begin building a new brick Byzantine style church, which was dedicated in 1953 by Bishop Joseph Burke. With enrollment in the parish school rising, the next pastor, Rev. John Glazik proposed a new school be built along with a new home for the Felician sister who taught there.

This became a reality in 1967, but the growth was short lived, by the late 1970s the trend reversed and enrollment was on the down swing resulting in the school closing in 1975 and the children of the parish attending a combined Catholic school system for the Depew area. The parish was fortunate to have the town purchase the modern building which now serves as the town municipal building. Presently the parish is financially sound and is administered by the Rev. Conrad Stachowiak.


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