BUFFALO, N.Y. — When you think of a flash mob, typically the images from a Sunday mass don’t come to mind.
But that same concept was used at St. John Kanty on Sunday.
“Typically, they have between about 40 and 60 people on a Sunday. I started counting. I was in the 200s. I would estimate close to about 300 people,” said Christopher Byrd, co-founder of Buffalo Mass Mob.
Buffalo Mass Mob has existed for more than a decade, bringing large groups of people to churches across the city, but its presence has never been more important than now.
Byrd grew up attending St. John Kanty and is aware of what’s to come, as just two months ago, the Buffalo Diocese announced that the parish would be on its long list of about 80 closures and mergers across Buffalo as a part of its Road to Renewal program.
“I'm sitting here and thinking that a year from now, this is going to be gone,” Byrd said. “For me and others, it's like losing a family member.”
This Sunday marked the group's 49th mass mob with the goal of getting folks to understand the history and beauty of churches like St. John Kanty — which has been a second home and sanctuary for Polish families in Buffalo since 1892.
The mass mobs also help fill the donation tray and support the churches financially.
Diane Wilson grew up in one of those families that called this church home, and while she isn’t a regular in the pews anymore, seeing them full one last time tonight brought fond memories back.
“This will always be our church,” she said. “Those memories will never go away. Those memories will never go away.”
St. John Kanty was also one of five churches to be designated as a landmark by the Buffalo Common Council last month, meaning it will be more challenging for the diocese to sell the church once it closes because it cannot be demolished.