In March of 1921, ten of the thirteen Lake View Catholic families met to discuss the formation of a Lakeview parish and the building of a church and rectory. They elected a building committee who met personally with Bishop Turner and secured his approval. Through donation and purchase they provided the prospective parish with one and a half acres of land. During the following year they raised sufficient funds to proceed with construction. In April 1922, Bishop Turner appointed Father Leo J. Toomey to be the pastor of the new Lake View parish. In August of 1922 the basement of the new church was completed and Mass began to be offered there. The corner stone was laid on October 1st and on Sunday, October 22nd, 1922, Bishop Turner solemnly dedicated the new church to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
A School Became Our Auditorium Church
Following the second World War, the accelerated growth of the parish persuaded OLPH parishioners to undertake a building program which was to include a new church, rectory, school and convent. Additional land purchases provided the parish with the total area of about 10 acres which make up our present campus. They adopted an expansion plan, approved by Bishop Burke, which called for the construction of a school, which could also be used as a church, and of a convent. The school building was completed in 1961 and Sunday Masses began to be celebrated in our "Auditorium" church. Classes started in the school in September of 1962. The Convent was finished a year later.
During the next thirty years a slow but steady growth in area housing construction brought a corresponding gradual increase in OLPH parish membership and church attendance. In 1983 it was decided to consolidate the two area Catholic schools, OLPH and St. Vincent's School in North Evans. The new consolidated school to be "Southtowns Catholic", using the facilities at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
75 Years of Growth Meant Change
In September 1990 Father John W. Zeitler became pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. Under his leadership, OLPH began a period of growth and renewal. Several projects were undertaken to beautify parish grounds and buildings. Further increases in home building along the entire Lakeshore area brought many new families to us. In 1997, as the parish celebrated its 75th Anniversary, it became apparent that we would soon outgrow our present facilities.
Property Development & Building Maintenance
Father John and our Parish Council began to consider how we could best meet the challenges this continued growth brought us. The OLPH Parish Property Development and Building Maintenance Committee was formed to study present and future needs and utilization of parish buildings and property. After much study their final report, authorizing the Parish to determine the possibility of building a new church, was submitted to and unanimously approved by the Parish Leadership Team on March 18, 1998.
Feasibility
On June 1st, 1998 a New Church Feasibility Committee was formed to answer 3 questions: Do we need a new church?, Do we want a new church?, and Is building a new church financially possible?. A Parish-wide survey was taken. Two Parish Town Meetings were held to answer questions and receive suggestions, advice, and complaints. Financial advise was sought from pastors of other churches, and from professional fund raisers. Present sources of parish income and past experience with capital fund raising projects were studied. Committee discussions were always open to new and diverse ideas and views, and all decisions were arrived at by consensus.
The Answer Was YES
The Final Report of the Feasibility Committee recommended seeking permission from Bishop Mansell to form a New Church Building Committee to proceed with this project following guidelines supplied by the Diocese of Buffalo. This permission was given and the Building Committee was formed. All the members of the Feasibility Committee indicated their willingness to serve on the New Church Building Committee, and several additional members were also recruited.
So We Raised the Money
In 1999 a Capital Fund Raising Committee was formed, a goal was set, workers were recruited, and in the Fall of 1999 the goal of $3.5 million was raised in cash and pledges. Meanwhile Father John and the Building Committee began working with architect Jake Schneider to plan a complete revisualization of the parish campus, which would integrate the new church building, along with existing school and convent, into one cohesive parish center.
And So We Built Our Beautiful New Church
Work began in August of 2000, with the clearing of trees and transfer of topsoil from the site of the new church. Construction fell into three phases:
[August 2000 - October 2000] Site preparation and foundations
[October 2000 - August 2001] Construction of the building itself (steel work, floors, walls etc.)
[August 2001 - December 2001] Interior (wiring, woodwork, carpets, furnishings, trim, etc.)
Although many details of the project were not completed, we were able to begin celebrating weekend Masses in our new worship home on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, December 15th & 16th.
New Church Dedication
Our New Church was dedicated by Bishop Henry Mansell, Bishop of Buffalo on Sunday, June 30, 2002.