BUFFALO, NY, March 11, 2025 – The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo is delighted to announce the appointment of Joleen Dimitroff as the new superintendent of Catholic Elementary Schools.

Mrs. Dimitroff brings more than 35 years of expertise in educational leadership to this crucial role, with accomplishments in academic excellence, institutional growth, student support, and community building. Her appointment as superintendent begins full time June 2, 2025.

Rooted in our Catholic schools’ mission to teach, serve, and evangelize as we proclaim glory to God, Mrs. Dimitroff will lead efforts to ensure Catholic education is available to all families for generations to come. As superintendent, she will spearhead the implementation of the diocese’s new strategic plan, bringing leadership, and leveraging infrastructure and systems needed to fulfill this collective vision.

Mrs. Dimitroff’s extensive and varied career includes leadership positions as the current principal of Cardinal O’Hara High School, as well as serving as principal of Glendale Elementary, Sweet Home High School, and Akron Elementary. Her experience also encompasses roles as an educational consultant for Opportunities Collaborative and adjunct instructor in the Educational Leadership Program at Canisius University.

“For decades, we have been blessed by dedicated leaders, and we are grateful for the legacy of talented superintendents who have shaped Catholic education in unique and meaningful ways,” explained Bishop Michael Fisher. “I believe the Holy Spirit has truly led Joleen to us, as her commitment to innovative, inclusive, and faith-centered learning opportunities makes her an ideal leader for the diocese. Her intelligence, strength in relationship-building, and unbounding energy make her the perfect person for this role at this pivotal time.”

During her tenure as principal of Cardinal O’Hara High School, Mrs. Dimitroff demonstrated visionary leadership by fostering educational innovation, a culture of academic excellence, and holistic student development. Notably, she established New York State’s first inclusive Catholic high school program for students with intellectual disabilities. She also forged partnerships with Niagara University, Hilbert College, and SUNY Erie to implement dual enrollment courses, enriching academic offerings and fostering college readiness. Her experience also includes leading comprehensive school improvement initiatives, enhancing academic performance, and fostering a positive learning environment.

As principal of Glendale Elementary, Mrs. Dimitroff was instrumental in implementing FranklinCovey’s Leader in Me® program, transforming the school community’s culture by building trust, character, empathy, and leadership.

“I have known and worked with Joleen for over two decades, and she is a highly regarded leader in education,” said Robert Bennett, chancellor emeritus of the New York State Board of Regents. “During my time on the Board of Regents, we always looked to the school leaders throughout the state and her name was always at the top of the list. Joleen’s core beliefs that all children can learn, and families are critical partners, emerged as essential to her success. The Catholic Diocese is very fortunate to have a leader of schools that thoroughly understands the good news and proudly causes the school culture to reflect her example.”

A proud product of Catholic education from first grade through her graduate studies at Canisius University, Mrs. Dimitroff holds a profound appreciation for its impact on character and community. She is eager to galvanize our diocesan schools to work cohesively in cultivating future-ready disciplines of Christ.

“As a lifelong advocate for Catholic education, I am deeply honored to be chosen to serve as superintendent,” said Mrs. Dimitroff. “I am committed to working collaboratively with our schools and the diocese to further enhance our mission of providing exceptional academic and spiritual formation for all students.”

Mrs. Dimitroff is a parishioner of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Williamsville.

 

About the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo Elementary School Communities

The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo is committed to fostering Christ-centered communities for Western New York families, emphasizing academic excellence, character development, personal wellness, athletics and extra-curriculars, service opportunities, and faith formation. With more than 6,7000 students attending 30 schools across five Western New York counties, the Diocese is developing lifelong learners and disciples of Christ. Catholic Education…It’s everything you value!

Extensive consultation and community needs lead to decision.

Buffalo, N.Y., February 19, 2025 – During a meeting held last evening, the Diocese of Buffalo announced that Holy Cross Church deemed to merge and close in final decisions reached in September, will remain open on Buffalo’s West Side.

The church at 345 Seventh Street, Buffalo, originally scheduled to remain open during initial recommendations communicated in May 2024, was suggested to close following a review meeting with its Family of Parishes representatives last summer. This counterproposal was challenged and upon further review led to the change in status.

“Following a thorough review, acknowledging the diverse communities and needs that Holy Cross ministers to including the Rwandan, African and Hispanic communities on Buffalo’s West Side, Holy Cross will remain open,” explained Father Bryan Zielenieski, Diocesan Vicar for Renewal and Development. “The church deemed essential for ministry and mission has been placed on a watch list to help the parish deal with the financial stability that is needed. The watch list is designed to help parishioners and community members recognize their direct involvement in making the parish successful for the future.”

As already planned, Family of Parishes’ Families 21 and 23 will merge to form a new family that includes Blessed Trinity, St. Martin de Porres, SS. Columba-Brigid, Our Lady of Hope and Holy Cross churches all in Buffalo.

World Mission Society Church of God takes ownership of the former seminary

Buffalo, N.Y., February 14, 2025 – The sale of the Diocese of Buffalo’s property in East Aurora that was the former home of Christ the King Seminary closed today, completing the transfer to new owners.

The closing today follows a public auction held Oct. 28, 2024, administered through U.S. Bankruptcy Court, in which World Mission Society Church of God was the winning bidder on the Christ the King Seminary property. The winning bid was $4.2 million. The Bankruptcy Court has directed that the proceeds of sale be held by the Diocese pending further order of the Court.

Originally listed for sale in November 2023, the campus on Knox Road in the Town of Aurora was closed in 2020. At that time, the Diocese and seminary board elected to close the seminary to contain costs while allowing students in formation to experience the advantages of larger, more diverse classes and offerings afforded through St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore, St. Bernard’s School of Theology, Rochester, and now also the Josephinum Diaconate Institute, Columbus.

Christ the King Seminary was founded at St. Bonaventure University in 1857 by the Franciscan Fathers of the Order of Friars Minor. In 1974, the seminary moved to Aurora N.Y., where it replaced St. John Vianney Seminary. The Diocese assumed sponsorship and administration of the seminary in 1990.

World Mission Society Church of God is a religious organization founded in 1964 that has a presence in 175 countries with 3,000,000 members.

In response to the second request from five Buffalo area Catholics, and an anonymous priest, for a visit from the Vatican regarding Bishop Michael Fisher, we offer the following statement on Bishop Fisher’s tenure in the Diocese of Buffalo.  

Refusal to acknowledge the changing landscape of the Catholic church in Western New York would paralyze the faith for generations to come. Bishop Michael Fisher, as Bishop of Buffalo, has consulted with more people than any previous process or effort in the Diocese of Buffalo. Bishop Fisher has consistently maintained that it will take all of us working together to meet the very real challenges of today’s church. Bishop Fisher has emphasized the importance in providing crucial ministries to the people of Western New York and has supported the collaboration of these ministries in our parishes. Bishop Fisher refuses to cater to individual agendas on how to administer the Diocese, but has always encouraged input, and listened to collaborative efforts that take into consideration the good of the entire Diocese. The Bishop, as the spiritual guide and shepherd of the diocese, has presided at Mass at nearly all the diocese’s 160 parishes since his installation in January of 2021. He has a regular presence at Catholic elementary and high schools especially during their opening week and Catholic Schools Week.  In addition to hosting school events at Saint Joseph Cathedral, he is consistently present at Catholic Charities and other outreach ministries throughout the diocese. 

The fact that an unnamed priest has authored a letter to the pope that cannot be responded to personally illustrates a lack of courage by the cleric. Bishop Fisher, from the first day of his arrival as Bishop of Buffalo, has fostered an atmosphere of collaboration with both clergy and laity.  He also has made himself highly available to priests to discuss issues and answer questions.  It is unfortunate that the author of the letter has not accepted the ongoing invitations of Bishop Fisher to priests to meet.  Furthermore, it is unfortunate that Mr. Taheri declined Bishop Fisher’s previous invitation to meet. 

Bishop Michael Fisher has directed parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo to take up a special emergency collection in response to the devastation caused by the ongoing wildfires in Southern California.

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), the official domestic relief agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., has launched a dedicated disaster relief donation campaign. All funds raised in the diocese will assist those displaced or suffering because of the fires. One hundred percent of all donations will be allocated to Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, which will provide critical humanitarian relief to those most in need.

In addition of the upcoming special collection in parishes, gifts also may be made online through www.catholiccharitiesusa.org and by accessing the LA Wildfires Disaster Relief “Give Now” button, or by texting FIRES to 20406.

In his request to diocesan priests requesting the special collection, Bishop Fisher said, “I know the generosity of our people and their deep care for those in need. I trust that you will find the

best way of making these needs known to the faithful of your parish community. Please include an

intercession for all those affected by the fires in the Universal Prayer at Masses.”

Downloadable News Release

In a story that ran December 31 in The Buffalo News, the front-page article detailed merger decrees recently issued to two parishes that are scheduled to become secondary worship sites.  In the story, St. Benedict in Eggertsville and St. Bernadette in Orchard Park are featured and the story’s premise is that the parishes were slated for merger based on the potential sale of their real estate to satisfy sexual abuse claims that parishes and the Diocese of Buffalo faces. 

The Diocese, in consultation with the Families of Parishes through the Road to Renewal looked exhaustively as to reconfiguring the parishes in the diocese to address a number of crucial realities… most importantly the declining number of priests, (115 active, non-retired currently, projected 70 priests in 2030 and 38 priests in 2040), the significant decline in church attendance and decreased spiritual and financial participation over the last two decades, as well as aging congregations.  Was the diocesan Chapter 11 reorganization a factor in this process? Of course, yes, because it helps the Diocese take a hard look to determine what are future needs will be.  Was it an overriding factor? No. 

The premise that decisions made solely on perceived parish property value driven by the Chapter 11 process is an oversimplification of a complex process.  

Of the initial Road to Renewal recommendations on mergers and closures made in May 2024, 26 of the 36 recommendations for Family of Parishes were changed. Those final recommendations released in September 2024 from Bishop Michael Fisher were based on input from each Family of Parishes representative team, in consultation with a Road to Renewal review team, diocesan officials and representative bodies of diocesan clergy. This careful and comprehensive review involved many factors focused on the viability of each parish family. 

In the St. Benedict counter proposal meeting, the initial recommendation of closing the parish was changed and St. Benedict’s will continue as a secondary worship site. The same scenario occurred with St. Bernadette. It was the counter proposal team from St. Bernadette that proposed selling excess land on their campus.  

As to how secondary worship sites will operate, each Family of Parishes will decide on church usage moving forward.  The secondary worship site is able to be utilized by the parish for worship, ministry, and functions that the parish deem essential for their mission going forward. If there is any future discussion as to the closure of a secondary worship site, that will follow the same canonical procedure used to close a parish, would involve consultation and recourse to appeal the closure would also be afforded.   

Also as previously communicated, through mediation, the Diocese has offered a $100 million contribution towards a victims’ settlement fund, with contributions coming from the diocese, parishes and related Catholic entities.  It is anticipated that this contribution will be augmented with funds from insurance carriers as well.   

The Diocese of Buffalo has filed objections to 46 sexual abuse claims filed against its bankruptcy estate. These objected claims include those alleging abuse by Boys Scouts of America personnel or volunteers after 1975, which are barred by the confirmed Boys Scouts of America Chapter 11 plan, and those alleging loss of consortium claims by spouses of sexual abuse claimants. In filing these objections, the Diocese does not intend to diminish any acts of abuse which may have occurred against victims but rather is objecting to claims for which it does not have liability.

The group of objected claims also includes those filed by five abuse claimants who previously accepted a settlement offer under the Diocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which paid nearly $18 million in settlement funds to abuse victims, and who released the Diocese from all claims in exchange for the payments made by the Diocese to them.

During a public auction administered through U.S. Bankruptcy Court yesterday, the Diocese of Buffalo’s Christ the King Seminary property was sold to World Mission Society of God. The winning bid was $4.2 million.

World Mission Society of God is a religious organization founded in 1964 that has a presence in 175 countries with 3,000,000 members.

World Mission Society of God was the stalking horse bidder in the auction that set the opening bid for the property. The stalking horse bid was $3.8 million.

Originally listed for sale in November 2023, the 117-acre property on Knox Road in the Town of Aurora was closed in 2020. The Diocese and seminary board elected to close the seminary four years ago to contain costs while allowing students in formation to experience the advantages of larger, more diverse classes and offerings afforded through St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore and St. Bernard’s School of Theology, Rochester.

Christ the King Seminary originally began at St. Bonaventure University in 1857 when it was founded by the Franciscan Fathers of the Order of Friars Minor. In 1974, the seminary moved to Aurora, where it replaced St. John Vianney Seminary. The Diocese assumed sponsorship and administration of the seminary in 1990.

Downloadable News Release

Yesterday, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Carl Bucki issued a decision denying the Diocese’s request to continue the comprehensive injunction that had previously stayed prosecution of all Child Victim Act litigation against parishes, schools and other related Catholic entities in state court.

Notably, while Judge Bucki declined to issue an order continuing the broad stay of all such litigation, he did observe that many of the cases that have been asserted against parishes, schools and related entities are nevertheless subject to an automatic statutory stay. Accordingly, moving forward, it will be necessary to conduct an independent evaluation on a case-by-case basis to determine if the underlying statutory stay applies.

While the full impact of this ruling is not yet clear, it now appears that certain resources that would otherwise have been devoted to funding a settlement trust will now unfortunately be dissipated as costs of litigation. We are disappointed by the court’s decision, as we believe – and as has been illustrated elsewhere – that good faith mediation is the best way forward and will provide a more equitable result for all survivors.

Downloadable News Release