Country United States Founded 1902 Dedicated 1913 Opened 24 September 1911 Capacity 880 | Denomination Roman Catholic Founder(s) William J. Schreck Height 34 m Floor area 1,951 m² | |
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Architectural style Renaissance Revival architecture Similar St Francis de Sales Roman C, Villa Maria Motherhouse Complex, All Saints Roman Catholic, Holy Trinity Roman Catholic, Saint Mary of Sorrows Roman C | ||
Saint Gerard's Roman Catholic Church is located at 1190 E Delavan Avenue, in the East Side of Buffalo, New York. The Roman Basilica-style church previously served as a Catholic parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. The church held its final full mass on January 1, 2008 and currently sits secured but deteriorating.
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History
This church is the second to the parish, and was built in response to demand for a larger place of worship. The building, a Roman Basilica style, is based on the design of Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, being one-third as large. The interior of the church contains 12 granite columns, a coffered ceiling, 15 murals, 26 rondos, and a fresco. In 1930 the nave was raised to 60 ft. and a three-stage, 110 ft. bell tower was added.
Moving the Church
In October 2008, "Mary Our Queen" parish in Norcross, Georgia expressed interest in moving the church 900 miles south to serve as their new house of worship. Their $16 million plans call for the church to be completely deconstructed, packed, and trucked south for reassembly for continued use as a Catholic church. During the summer of 2010, "Mary Our Queen" arranged the removal of a 7 ft, 1600 lb statue of St. Gerard. The statue was broken in two while being transported to their Georgia parish. In July of 2016 the 47 beautiful stained glass windows were removed from the church. The windows will be restored by Lynchburg Stained Glass and re-installed at the new "Mary Our Queen" parish in Georgia.