BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo announced its final plan for merging and closing dozens of churches around Western New York on Tuesday, after sharing its initial recommendations at the end of May.
While the number of recommendations here is about the same as the final list of 78 closures, how the Diocese met that goal has significantly changed.
Bishop Michael Fisher said at a Tuesday news conference that the decisions made by the Diocese weren't easy but will help re-focus efforts going forward.
"I feel confident that what's been developed and this way forward will help us do that and give us some hope for our future," said Bishop Fisher.
According to a press release from the Diocese, 26 of their 36 initial recommendations were altered after parishes offered counter-proposals and met with a diocesan review committee at the beginning of August.
"The counter-proposals really filled in the lines for us in a lot of things," said Vicar of Renewal and Development Father Bryan Zielenieski.
The Diocese will reduce its total number of worship sites from 196 including 160 parishes and 36 secondary sites, to 118 worship sites, including 79 parishes and 39 secondary sites.
Zielenieski said the closures would begin in October after priests meet next Tuesday, September 17 to discuss the timeline going forward. He said ultimately parishioners and leadership will help choose a date and then inform the diocese.
In addition to the 78 parishes/worship sites set to close an additional 13 parishes have been placed on a watch list by the Diocese.
"It's just heartbreaking and it rips the hearts of all parishioners in the City of Buffalo from all these closed parishes," said Blessed Sacrament of Tonawanda parishioner Tom Puchalski.
Puchalski learned Tuesday that his parish will be closing, confirming fears he and others had back in May.
St. Mark's parishioner Meghann Roehl told 2 On Your Side she was torn by the news after finding out her parish's appeal had worked. Rather than closing like initially proposed St. Mark's North Buffalo will stay open with St. Margaret's as a secondary site.
"That mixed relief is one where you want to be happy for your own community and future but also being mindful of others having theirs closed," said Roehl.
Bishop Fisher challenged the church communities that stay open to accept fellow Catholics who will be seeking a new home soon.
"To those who remain open, that you are to be welcoming to those who will be losing, to those who will be merging now they are apart of our family," Fisher said.
The final list of parishes/sites that are merging or closing is below:
Buffalo Vicariate
- St. Rose of Lima, Buffalo
- All Saints, Buffalo
- Holy Spirit, Buffalo
- Holy Cross, Buffalo
- St. Michael, Buffalo
- Coronation of the BU. Virgin Mary, Buffalo
- St. John Kanty, Buffalo
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Buffalo
- St. Ambrose or St. Martin of Tours, Buffalo
- St. Bernard, Buffalo
Genesee Wyoming Vicariate
- St. George, West Falls
- St. Padre Pio, Elba site
- St. Brigid, Bergen
- Ascension, Batavia
- St. Maximilian Kolbe, Corfu site
- Immaculate Heart of Mary, Bennington Center
- St. John Neumann, East Bethany Site
- St. Isidore, Perry site
- St. Isidore, Silver Springs site
Southern Erie Vicariate
- St. John Vianney, Orchard Park
- St. John XXIII, West Seneca
- St. Josaphat, Cheektowaga
- St. Martha, Depew
- St. Mother of Good Counsel, Blasdell
- Our Lady of Bistrica, Lackawanna
- St. Francis of Assisi, Hamburg
- St. Anthony, Farnham
Northern Erie Vicariate
- Good Shepherd, Clarence
- St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Cheektowaga
- Infant of Prague, Cheektowaga
- St. Andrew, Kenmore
- Blessed Sacrament, Tonawanda
- St. Francis of Assisi, Tonawanda
- St. Jude the Apostle, North Tonawanda
- St. Pius X, Getzville
Southern Tier East Vicariate
- St. Mary, Bolivar
- Blessed Sacrament, Andover
- St. Brendan, Almond
- St. Joseph Oratory, Scio
- St. Jude, Sardinia
- St. John the Baptist, West Valley
- St. Mary, East Arcade site
Southern Tier West Vicariate
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Forestville site
- St. Joseph, Fredonia
- St. Anthony, Fredonia (Feb. 15, 2026)
- Blessed Mary Angela, St. Hyacinth site, Dunkirk (Feb. 15, 2026)
- Blessed Mary Angela, St. Hedwig site, Dunkirk
- Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, SS. Peter and Paul site, Jamestown
- Sacred Heart, Panama site
- St. James, Frewsburg site
- Our Lady of Loretto, Falconer
- St. Dominic, Brocton site
- Christ Our Hope, Sherman site
- Holy Spirit, North Collins
- St. Mary, Cattaraugus
Niagara Orleans Vicariate
- All Saints, St. Patrick site, Lockport
- All Saints, St. Joseph site, Lockport
- St. Brendan on the Lake, Wilson site
- Holy Trinity, Middleport site
- St. Mark, Kendall Former Lyndonville property, rectory
- St. Raphael, Niagara Falls
- St. John de LaSalle, Niagara Falls
- Divine Mercy, Niagara Falls
The Bishop added that while these closures are not unique to the Buffalo Catholic Diocese he expects them to be felt deeper than other parts of the country and world, noting Western New York's deep catholic tradition.
"The Diocese of Buffalo, like dioceses across our nation and around the world, has had to deal with some harsh realities - a decline in Church attendance, the decline of those pursuing a life in ordained ministry, the rise of secularism and shift away from the parish as the defining center of Catholic identity and the horrendous toll that the sexual abuse scandal by clergy and others has inflicted on parish life and the personal faith of so many; most especially on those who have been forever harmed in body, mind and spirit," said Fisher.
In the following video, Father Zielenieski discusses what churches are closing and what ones are staying open.
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