Photo Gallery: Saint John Kanty Church – April 2013

These are a few photos of Saint John Kanty Church taken in April of 2013 right after Easter.

Saint John Kanty Church is the third Polish church established in East Buffalo’s Historic Polonia.

Here is a history of the church from the Polish Genealogy Society of NY:

Even though immigration had leveled off, the expansion of the Polish community along Broadway continued. By 1890, the population stretched across the New York Central Rail lines heading east. Considering the dangerous situation of crossing busy rail lines, especially for children, the Rev. Jan Pitass sought permission from the bishop to found another Polish parish on the Eastside of the city. The young Tomasz Flaczek was sent to organize a parish which would be names for another Polish saint, St. John Kanty. Land was secured and, with money raised or borrowed, building of the present church began; completion was in November 1893. Those were difficult times but the Poles, strong church-goers, saw that the bills were paid and even supported the building of a parish school and a convent for the Felician Sisters. The first long term pastor appointed was Rev. Andrzej Grastka, who remained in the parish for thirty-one years. He came to the parish in 1910 and was faced with a debt of over $150,000. Through vigorous fundraising and lots of hard work, in ten years time he was able to lower the parish debt to $25,000. But, after bringing the debt down, it was necessary to expand – the number of parishioners was steadily increasing, the school was in need of repair, the convent and rectory were too small to accommodate the need. Rev. Garstka began a new building program which included a convent, a rectory and a grand lyceum – a three-story building with a third floor hall with capacity for 2,000 people. The lyceum, as many can remember, was a hub of activity for the Eastside. In addition to adding classroom space, it was the meeting place for the church?s societies, an evening school for adult education, and a staging area for numerous plays, concerts and social dances. The Rev. Jozef Glapinski succeeded Fr. Garstka as pastor of the parish. He had the honor of being raised to the rank of Monsignor during his pastorate. It was during his term that a fire heavily damaged the church building, making it necessary to use the lyceum hall as a temporary church. The renovations made by Msgr. Glapinski can still be seen in the church today. In 1957, upon the death of the Monsignor, Rev. Msgr. Radziszewski became pastor. He was followed by the Rev. Msgr. William Wozniak. In 1992, the parish celebrated its centennial and, in spite of the demographic changes in the neighborhood, still is a sizable parish community.

*Link to Polish Genealogy Society of NY

Click on images below to open gallery–>

Church website—> https://stjohnkantychurchbuffalo.wordpress.com/


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