History of St. James Parish

St. James R.C. Church was established on June 8, 1910. Msgr. James Carra, founder, served as the first pastor to the largely Italian immigrant parish. Masses were held in a purchased wood frame house on Victoria Ave. and the sisters of Mercy arrived to teach school there in 1912. The house was replaced by a large new stone church in 1915. In 1918, St. James School was moved to the basement of the church until 1953 when the brick building on nearby Prospect Ave. was built. The present church at 27 Allen St. was built in 1968.

St. James was blessed with the continuity of longtime pastors: Msgr. Carra, 1910 to 1927; Rev. Austin Billerio from 1927 to 1940; Msgr. Pasquale Colagioia, 1940 to 1973; Rev. Louis Della Neva, 1973 to 1978; and Msgr. Antoine Attea, from 1978 to 2007. Upon the death of Msgr. Attea, Rev. Dennis Mende served as interim pastor until 2008, when parochial vicar Rev. Robert Stolinski became pastor, assisted by Deacon Michael Lennon as financial administrator. Rev. Darrell Duffy became pastor in December, 2009 to 2021.

St. James School operated until the merger with SS Peter 81, Paul School on N. Main St. in 1977, (recently renamed the Catholic Academy of the Holy Family). The building was used for a variety of church classes and community activities, including St. Susan’s soup kitchen and preschools. When the cost of upkeep exceeded income, the school building was sold to Walgreens Pharmacy in 2006 and demolition was finished in 2007.

Since our 100th anniversary celebration in 2000, lay staff have continued to assist the pastor with programs and day-to-dayoperation. Lay volunteers also serve in a variety of ministries, including lectors, liturgists, musicians, hospitality ministers,ushers, Eucharistic ministers and bearers of the Eucharist to the homebound. They Visit the sick and bereaved, cook and bake for parish functions such as our annual St. Joseph’s Table and Summer Festival, chair committees that raise money for charities as well as the parish’s own needs, work in the ecumenical soup kitchen, staff the parish thrift store, provide supplies for food baskets and other community needs as well as writing letters to effect just changes on a global scale or volunteer other skills andtalents.

Parishioners serve as catechists, Liturgy of the Word for Children leaders and RCIA assistants. They also lead Bible Studies, Sponsor parish missions or renewals, work with marriage preparation and hold seats on parish council. Newest additions to St. James lay ministries since 2000 have been Our Daily Bread meals to the homebound, summer Bible study, and intergenerational, lifelong faith formation programs.

In 2004, St. James was one of only two churches designated an “Outstanding Community of Salt 8:. Light by Catholic Charities, Buffalo, for work accomplished by the Parish Outreach, Parish Food Pantry, the St. James Thrift Store, St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Peace and Justice Committee, and involvement with St. Susan’s Soup Kitchen. Our youth have also been involved with volunteering and many have received diocesan awards over the years.

Although a complete list has not been kept, a number of vocations to the priesthood and sisterhood have come from St. James and the most recent honor was for our parishioner and volunteer, Samuel Pellerito to have been ordained a Deacon in 2010. Through the 100 years that St. James has existed, it has been guided by the tireless love of its pastors and almost 70 assistant priests. For more than 50 years it was blessed with the Sisters of Mercy who taught in the parish school as well as for religious instructions. Other sisters came to implement the first ministry of Parish Outreach in 1980, later staffed by lay women, which has served the community until the present.

Due to the shortage of priests experienced in the last decade, through the Journey of Faith and Grace process in the Diocese of Buffalo, churches needed to merge or link to combine services and strengthen existing programs. Our Lady of Victory Church, Frewsburg, having been linked with and sharing a pastor with St. James since 2003, became Our Lady of Victory Oratory, was welcomed and merged into the parish in 2008 during a special Mass of unity, increasing St. James existing membership from 1,000 families to 1,100 and bringing new and younger families into our parish. May God continue to help us grow in faith and service.

In August 2020 the Buffalo Diocese again began an initiative called Road to Renewal to help strengthen the Catholic Community. In June 2021 they have brought the initiative out to the Parishes. The plan is to have three to five parishes join as a Family. They suggestion is for the family to work together while parishes will maintain its own identity. This process has just begun and we will be praying for a successful initiative.

May 24, 2021 Father Darrell Duffy was transferred to SS Peter and Paul in Hamburg NY.

Father Piotr Zaczynski became our Temporary Parish Administrator until July 2021.

 

July 01 2021 Father Paul Cygan became a Parochial Vicar for St James and Holy Apostles Parishes.

July 2021 Father Dennis Mende became our Temporary Pastor and became our permanent Pastor July 01, 2021. He was Pastor of Holy Apostles as well as our parish until his passing, God Rest His Soul, on September 08, 2021.

October 03, 2021 Father Todd Remick became our Temporary Parish Administrator and became our permanent Parish Administrator March, 2022. At this time the Bishop is not naming Pastors because we are in the midst of Road to Renewal. Once St James becomes a Family of Parishes, a Pastor will be named.

March 02, 2022 through April 04, 2022 the parish took part in a diocesan wide survey, called Discipleship Maker Index (DMI) which allowed parishioners to reflect on their own spiritual growth and enable them to provide feedback on our parish’s efforts to help them grow.

February 08, 2023 Father Darrell Duffy became our new pastor. He returned to the area with his beloved dog Jasmine. At this time we began the process of becoming a Family of Parishes under the Road to Renewal Program. The parishes include: Holy Apostles (sites at St John on Newton Avenue in Jamestown and SS Peter & Paul on Cherry Street in Jamestown), Our Lady of Loreto on Everett St in Falconer, Sacred Heart (sites Sacred Heart on Fairmount Avenue in Lakewood and Our Lady of the Snows on Main Street in Panama), St James (sites at St James on Allen Street in Jamestown and Our Lady of Victory Oratory on Institute Street in Frewsburg), and St Patrick on Main Street in Randoph. Becoming a Family of Parishes is a large undertaking, six teams were developed by guidance of the diocese which are called Pillars. Pillar names: Administration, Forming Disciples, Liturgy, OutReach/InReach, Spiritual Life, Stewardship. These pillars along with all the faithful have been working together to strengthen our Catholic faith in the community by looking at all aspects of the faith. The wonderful part of this new initiative is that each parish remains its own entity, but we will share a central office.

Fr. Don Watkins Jr became part of St James clergy: Our Clergy staff now consists of Fr. Darrell Pastor, Fr. Don Watkins Jr, and Fr. Paul Cygan. Fr. Todd Remick is now the Vicar Forane for the area.

April 28, 2023 was a special mass for our beloved Deacon Michael Lennon. After so many years of service Deacon Mike had decided to retire. He will be missed as he was the glue that kept us together during these difficult times, truly a support to us all.

July, 2023 – A name for the Family of Parishes (FoP) was developed. Catholic Neighbors In Faith.

February 05, 2024 – Fr. Paul Cygan became the Temporary Administrator for the Catholic Neighbors In Faith Family of Parishes pending a new Pastor being named for the Family.