| Back to PGSNYS Home Page | Polish Parishes in WNY Index |
| Address: | 160 Cable Street Buffalo, New York 14206 |
|
| Telephone: | 716-824-9589 | |
| Founded: | Nov 1890 | |
| Pastor: | Rev Msgr Matthew Kopacz | |
| Mass Schedule: | Sat. 4PM Sundays 8AM, 10AM and 11:30 AM | |
| Parish census: | 1286 families | |
| School: | Parish school closed | |
| Year Built: | 1929 | |
| Style: | Byzantine | |
| LDS Microfilm: | FHL US/CAN Film 1292863 |
The 1880s and 1890s saw a steady increase in the number of immigrants coming to the WNY area. Not all the Poles were locating on the Eastside of Buffalo, but were settling in other areas of the city where employment could be found. The area east of Bailey Avenue running along Clinton Street, was a small farming community with a few German settlers. As economic opportunities increased, so did the population.
In 1890 the Poles organized a committee to discuss the possibility of establishing their own parish in the neighborhood. With the permission of the Bishop, the Rev. Rajmund Wieder, an assistant at St. Adalbert parish came to organize a parish which was to be named for St. Casimir, the Prince. The founder of the parish was a visiting priest who left Buffalo a year after the organization of the new parish. Rev. Wieder was the organizer of a Slovak parish in Braddock, PA and then worked in another Slovak parish in New Haven, PA, where he died in 1897. The wooden structure that was built under Fr. Wieder's guidance was known as the "Ark" because of its shape and construction. It served as the parish-church until the early 1900s when Fr. Kasprzak came to build a combination church school of brick. Fr. Kasprzak made great strides in normalizing the parish and the neighborhood, which at this point was in a doldrum state.
The 40 year pastorate of Rev. Antoni Majewski began in 1915 and was marked by the mammoth building campaign for a new church. In 1924, he embraked upon the building a magnificent Byzantine cathedral style church, something that WNYer had yet to see. Much of the plans and detail were the work of Fr. Majewski, that were developed following his visitations to Istanbul and his native Plock Poland. The church was dedicated in 1929 and now holds a "historic" status.
During the pastorate of the Rev. Eddie Kazmierczak, St. Casimir parish observed its centenial and the closing of its parish school. The present pastor, Matthew Kopacz has the tremendous duty of maintaining the magnificent church structure which required much repair and updating.