Parishioners at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Holley are celebrating a special milestone in their history this year. The parish is marking its 150th anniversary and a year-long celebration began August 15th – the Feast of the Assumption – which is the exact date the parish held its first Mass in Holley in 1865.
“The year kicked-off with a procession through the village square and then a party,” says Emily Kwiatkowski, pastoral assistant. The celebration will continue through August 14, 2016 with special events planned throughout the year. One of the major events – a wine tasting – is planned for Friday, November 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. at St. Mary’s Parish Center. The cost is $15 and the event is for those 21 years of age and over.
Mark Bower – whose family history goes back four generations to the very first parishioners – is chairman of the 150th Anniversary Steering Committee. “The wine tasting will feature Orleans, Monroe and Niagara County wineries and breweries,” he says. “There will also be vendors and samplings of food, including appetizers both savory and sweet.”
Tickets are available by calling Chris Wing at 638-6305 and Bower says he expects some tickets to be available the evening of the event.
Bower says there is a very good group of parishioners planning the year’s events and pastor, Fr. Mark Noonan, “is extremely excited and totally supportive of the church and parishioners celebrating this entire year.”
In addition to special events, Kwiatkowski says the parish (which is merged with St. Mark’s in Kendall) has implemented a monthly speaker series which includes topics such as, “the origin of swear words and how they impact how we think and act and managing stress,” she says.
On Monday, November 16, the topic will be Eucharistic Miracles presented by Dominic Salamida. The talk begins at 7 p.m. The December talk with be given by a teen and focus on, “overcoming adversity,” Kwiatkowski says. “We hope to have many middle and high school students at that.”
Mark Bower notes the speaker series, “takes a look at the spiritual aspect of the150th anniversary.”
Fr. Mark Noonan has written a brief history of the parish in which he explains the first St. Mary’s Church was a frame building on Canal St. (now East Avenue), constructed under the direction of pastor Fr. John Castaldi. The effort to construct the current Medina sandstone church on South Main Street began in 1898.
The church was dedicated on Christmas Eve, 1905, during the pastorate of Fr. James McCarthy.
The church was honored recently by being inducted into the Sandstone Hall of Fame on October 22 in Medina. “It stands as a perfect memorial to the skill, generosity and faith of the Italian quarrymen and stonecutters, as well as the spirit of cooperation which moved the whole parish to the completion of this glorious house of God which remains our spiritual home today,” Fr. Noonan writes in his history of the parish.
The parish today is vibrant, both Bower and Kwiatkowski say with 550 active families who live in Holley and the surrounding communities including Brockport, Bergen, Clarendon and Kendall.
In his history, Fr. Mark Noonan writes, “We can only hold the sweetness of God’s goodness and the love and faith of those who’ve gone before us in our hearts and rededicate ourselves to continuing the good work that began with a small group of 50 immigrants over 150 years ago.”
Other events planned for the 150th anniversary year include a Mass which will honor local veterans on Sunday, November 8 followed by a breakfast. “It may be the start of something we do every so often,” Mark Bower says.
December 6, the Genesee Chorale will perform at 3 p.m. and on April 23, 2016, an Anniversary Dinner and Dance for adults will be held at The Pillars in Albion. During the Holley JuneFest, held the first weekend in June, the first-ever St. Mary’s School reunion will be held. “The school would have been marking 65 years this year,” Bower says. The school – grades K-8 – closed in 1991.
A special Mass will be held that weekend with a social to follow. “All former staff and students are invited to attend,” Bower says.
