SALAMANCA — The Holy Cross Church on Broad Street is celebrating 100 years since the groundbreaking and beginning of construction on the present home for Salamanca’s Catholic community.
As part of the milestone, Bishop Michael Fisher made the trip from Buffalo lead a special Mass as celebrant Sunday along with dozens of parishioners from Salamanca and the neighboring communities.
“We honor those that have come before us and also celebrate the mission before us,” the bishop in his opening remarks. “It’s a great honor and a blessing to be here with you this day.”
The Mass’s concelebrants included Rev. Moses Ikuelogbon and Rev. Dennis Mancuso of the Three Catholic Sisters of the Foothills parish family in Salamanca, Ellicottville and Franklinville; Rev. Patrick Melfi, former pastor of the Our Lady of Peace parish; and Deacons Michael Anderson and Mark Hooper of the Three Catholic Sisters of the Foothills.
“One hundreds years ago, the parish of Holy Cross began its journey in this building on which they came to dedicate this church,” Fr. Dennis said in his welcome at the start of Mass.
The church and parish have changed over the years, Mancuso said, noting the parish’s combination first with St. Patrick’s in Salamanca and later with St. Patrick’s in Limestone and St. Peter’s in Carrollton. He said the celebration is not just of the church but the continuation of the family of parishes that continue to worship in it.
“Though the building is only 100 years old, the parish is older. There was certainly much more ministry and mission that was going on among the people here,” Fisher said during his homily. “Your mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, friends and neighbors have gone through births and deaths, weddings and funerals. … In each of these we use to measure time in our lives and the life of a parish and a life of our people.”
Anderson, who has served as a deacon at St. Patrick’s and Holy Cross for a few decades, said it’s been good for the community to have first the city’s two parishes and then the four parishes of Our Lady of Peace come together over the years and now are together for such a happy celebration.
“We’re grateful to have Bishop Fisher come down to celebrate with us,” he said. “It’s a great occasion.”
Fr. Moses agreed with Anderson, saying it was beautiful the bishop could attend. He said it’s tremendous to celebrate 100 years and to remember all the people who set the foundation for the church.
“We hope that as we celebrate this beautiful place and this dedication that we make our bodies and temples of God’s love and dwelling presence,” he said. “It’s a beautiful celebration.”
A FRONT PAGE story in the March 5, 1923, edition of The Republican Press announced the new Holy Cross church would be erected later that year at a cost of $80,000 — about $1.4 million today. The brick structure would be built on the site of the old school and convent, announced Rev. Fr. Adalhert Cichy, the parish’s eighth pastor.
Fr. Cichy said the new church, whose spire would tower 120 feet in the air “will be a very impressive and dignified edifice of conservative Gothic design.” At 55 feet wide and 125 feet long, the church would have approximate seating for 650 people.
The church walls were to be of dark red tapestry brick with sandstone buttress caps and copings, Fr. Cichy said. The design of the main entrance was to be wrought in sandstone and a 14-foot white marble and Corpus worked into the tower wall above. The roof covering the spire would be copper and the main roof of slate.
Come July, the cost estimate for the building increased to $100,000 — about $1.8 million today — in an announcement for the church’s groundbreaking at a special Sunday service. The services opened with Benediction in the old church followed by the members of the parish going to the site of the new church for the ceremony.
More than a year later on Sunday, Sept. 28, 1924, the church had its official dedication with 1,200 people, including 300 from Olean and dozens of other out-of-towners, in attendance. The celebration included a parade with several Catholic organizations from Salamanca and Olean along with over 100 other laymen from Bradford, Dunkirk and Buffalo participating.
Although built with seating for about 650, over 900 people crowded into the church with many standing in the aisles and the choir loft. Others stood in the vestibule or outside.
A highlight of opening the church was an organ concert earlier that Friday with the same organ moved from the old church and installed with two additional stops, performed by Prof. Frank Majerowski of Buffalo and singing by Miss Stegielski of Dunkirk.
THE FIRST Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church on Broad Street was completed in 1893 and used by the Polish residents for 31 years before being replaced by the church that sits at 274 Broad St. today.
Fr. Cichy said the original parish had about 70 families but in the 30 years since grew to 300 families with more than 1,600 people as members.
John R. Kubinski Sr. was one of the first Polish settlers in Salamanca, coming to the area in the early 1870s. Other early Polish settlers who helped found the parish were the Pilarski, Ambuski, Zaprowski and Mackowiak families.
Rev. Fr. Glapinski was the first rector of Holy Cross, beginning at a time when the church had $1,040 in its treasury. Its property in 1923 was valued at about $75,000.
The old church building was not removed but was instead used as a parish hall. The basement of the new church housing the parish school with six classrooms large enough to accommodate 50 children.
The former school building was remodeled into a home and the convent building was moved from the current church’s location two lots east to the other side of the original church.
In September 1970, the original Holy Cross church was razed, making room for the parish parking lot on the east side of the current church.
