September 8, 2006

Bishop Kmiec to dedicate new SS. Columba-Brigid Church

Some two and a half years after a Palm Sunday fire destroyed SS. Columba-Brigid Church in Buffalo, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec will dedicate the new church during a Mass on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m.

“This day has been anticipated by the parish family for some time,” Bishop Kmiec said, “and I look forward to being part of this wonderful celebration of a new faith experience for Catholics in the city of Buffalo.”

On Apr. 4, 2004, a burning candle fell over, igniting a fire that destroyed the 114-year-old church. The decision to raze the structure and build a new church was made shortly after the fire was put out.

Father Roy T. Herberger, pastor of the parish, is looking forward to the dedication. “My greatest joy is for the people of the parish who have gone through so much sadness, heartache and disappointment over the past few years, including the fire and the tragic death of our pastoral associate, Sister Karen Klimczak, as well as their own personal struggles.

“There is a renewed sense of happiness here. There is new hope and their faith has been rewarded. The new church is a symbol of new life, that there is a better future for us to look forward to. We are living out our parish motto: ‘We believe, we hope.’”

Construction began in October 2005, with Arbour Construction Management Inc. of Buffalo serving as the construction manager for the project. George Lukaszewicz Architects of Amherst designed the church that is located across the property from where the old church stood.

Located at Eagle and Hickory streets, the worship space in the church has seating for 300. A stained glass window above the main entrance to the church will feature a dove and the saying, “I leave peace prints,” popularized by Sister Karen. A peace garden dedicated to Sister Karen will be developed outside the church. Twenty-one stained glass windows from the old church are in the process of being restored and will be installed in the new church in the coming months.

The structure also has a parish hall with a capacity of 210 and five classrooms that will be used for religious education, Bible study, parish council meetings and other events. Father Herberger said that he would like to see the parish hall become a neighborhood center, available for wedding receptions and other family gatherings, and said he hopes Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings will return to the parish. Those two organizations were forced to find other locations following the fire.

St. Columba Parish, as it was once known, originally served Irish Catholics and then Italian Catholic families. It merged with St. Brigid Parish in 1987 and is now made up mostly of African-American and Puerto Rican families. Fire destroyed St. Brigid Church in the Old First Ward in 1979.

Following the 2004 fire at SS. Columba-Brigid Church, Masses were celebrated in a small chapel in the parish center, with a monthly bilingual Mass held at the Olivencia Community Center on Swan Street. Despite their displacement, the number of parishioners remained steady, with about 375 people registered with the parish.

With the new church ready to open, the parish is about to embark on an evangelization effort, looking to attract to its congregation residents who are now living in new housing in downtown Buffalo. “If they are looking for a home, they will find a welcoming space here,” Father Herberger noted.

This is the first new church to open in the City of Buffalo since St. Martin de Porres Church was dedicated in 2000.

The parish has scheduled five weeks of celebrations to mark the dedication of the new church:

Sat., Sept. 16	4 p.m. Mass	Former members of St. Lucy, St. Columba, St. Brigid parishes
Sat., Sept. 23	4 p.m. Mass	Members of St. Ann, St. Mary of Sorrows, St. Martin de Porres parishes
Sat., Sept. 30	4 p.m. Mass	Friends, relatives and benefactors of SS. Columba-Brigid Parish
Sat., Oct. 7	4 p.m. Mass	Hispanic Apostolate
Sat., Oct. 14	6 p.m. Choir fest	Feature neighboring Baptist congregations

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