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| Address: | 567 Hertel Avenue Buffalo, New York 14207 |
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| Telephone: | 716-875-3246 | |
| Founded: | Sept 1917 | |
| Pastor: | Fr. John POSIWALA, S.A.C. | |
| Mass Schedule: | Saturdays 4 PM ; Sundays 8:30, 10:30 and noon | |
| Parish census: | 400 Families | |
| School: | Parish school closed in 1983 | |
| Year Built: | 1963 | |
| Style: | Modern |
The Black Rock section of Buffalo already had one Polish parish, Assumption Church. When Poles began settling on the other side of the rail lines, it was closer for them to attend Holy Spirit Church seeing that it was located on Hertel Ave. within a mile of the future St. Florian Parish. This church however had no Polish speaking clergy, nor did the teaching Sisters speak Polish. Thus the residents of this district traveled over the tracks to Mass each Sunday. Their main concern was the dangerous crossing over the railroad lines by the school aged children.
A branch of the Polish fraternal, PRCU, had already formed in the neighborhood, bringing together the future founders of the parish. One of their main concerns was have their own church and school for the neighborhood. They sought the assistance of the pastor of Assumption Parish, Fr. Hordych, who was understanding and helpful in presenting the plan of forming a new parish to the Bishop. Bishop Doughtery, was receptive to the plan and within days of the a scheduled meeting between the parties, sent the Rev. Franciszek Wasik to organize a new parish. Fr. Wasik was able to purchased land along Hertel Ave. for $20,000., the site of the future church.
In the meantime, he rented space at a local store to serve as a temporary church. With funds raised in a variety of ways and borrowed money from the Diocese, Fr. Wasik built a combination school church structure, which still stands today. It was completed in 1919, a few months before he would leave the parish because of poor health. Later that year, Rev. Jan Szmytkowski came to St. Florian's to become pastor, a pastorate which would last 31 years. Fr. John made many improvements during his years at St. Florian. He was able to secure the Felician Sisters to teach in his school, built a rectory, a convent and saw the parish blossom from a mere 100 families to over 600.
During the pastorate of Fr. Andrew Pronobis, fund raising began for the construction of a new parish church. It was completed during the term of his successor, Fr. Wendzikowski, in 1964. Through the seventies the neighborhood began losing families to the suburbs which effected the parish school. In 1983, during the administration of Fr. Stanislaw Dawidziak the parish school was closed with plans to send the youths to Assumption School. Since Fr. Dawidziak's retirement, Rev. Msgr Edward Synowiak has been pastor. He has been able to put the parish on firm standing through careful spending and has rented the old school building to the Buffalo School System. This additional income helps the financial situation in the parish.