This is the official press release from Corpus Christi pertaining to the $450,000 they received. The above video is a series of photos I put together which are contained in the Library of Congress entitled Buffalo, New York: Easter high mass at the Corpus Christi church in the Polish community…they are from 1943…great stuff.
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Buffalo, New York – Governor Eliot Spitzer has announced $25.3 million in Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) grants awarded to local communities and organizations across New York State to assist with waterfront revitalization projects, historic preservation efforts, expanding open space, and increasing access to public lands. Corpus Christi Church in Buffalo, which was recently designated a New York State Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been awarded $450,000 through this state program to replace the church’s slate roof and make extensive repairs to the twin steeples.
Rev. Anzelm Chalupka has been the Pastor at Corpus Christi since 2004, when the Pauline Order agreed to take responsibility for the parish, thus saving the cherished East Side church from closing. Rev. Chalupka expressed joy and gratitude at news of the generous grant. He compared the EPF funding to a parable in the Bible of a farmer who owned a fig tree that did not bear fruit for three years. This man advised his laborer that the tree was worthless and should be cut down. But in response, the worker replied that he would continue to fertilize and tend to the tree for one more year. If it bore fruit fine, but if not he would then cut down the tree.
Rev. Chalupka noted, ” Corpus Christi Church is like that fig tree. When the Pauline Order came to Buffalo nearly four years ago, there were many skeptics who believed that Corpus Christi was not worth saving. It has been a difficult task to rebuild our faith community after years of decline in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. It has been equally challenging to raise the funds so critically needed to restore and preserve our magnificent church. Yet, despite tremendous odds, our faith and the dedicated efforts of our parishioners and supporters are now beginning to “bear fruit.”
“This vital funding helps make cultural and recreational opportunities available to all New Yorkers and countless visitors, and contributes to the economic revitalization of our state,” said Governor Spitzer. “Funding for local communities and organizations to undertake these important environmental projects will preserve and protect our valuable natural resources and promote New York ’s rich historic and cultural tradition.”
Carol Ash, Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said: “The EPF provides valuable resources for local communities across the state to enhance parkland, protect historic resources and expand open space available to the public. The grants enhance the character of local communities and provide long term benefits to the environment.”
The EPF funding is both a matching and a reimbursement grant. In November of this year, Corpus Christi also received a $45,000 challenge grant from The New York Landmarks Conservancy for exterior restoration. Taken together, that means the congregation must raise a dollar-for-dollar match of almost $500,000. Rev. Chalupka is hoping that the Western New York community will join Corpus Christi in meeting this challenge and protecting this architectural jewel for generations to come with a year-end donation.
Additional Information
Corpus Christi Church celebrated the 100th anniversary of the laying of the church cornerstone at a ceremony on November 1st, which also marked its official designation as a New York State Landmark and its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The church, which was slated to close in 2003, has found new vitality under the direction of the Pauline Priests and Brothers who have strengthened traditional religious observances and ethnic celebrations, attracting a wide audience of Western New Yorkers to this irreplaceable house of worship.The church is open daily from 7:30A.M. till 4:00P.M. for prayer and visitation. All are welcome. Additional information on Christmas services and special events can be found on the church website www.corpuschristionline.org.
The Environmental Protection Fund, created in 1993, is primarily funded through the real estate transfer tax and provides a dedicated source of funding for a variety of environmental projects and programs administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Department of Agriculture and Markets.
