Church of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr (Buffalo, New York) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St. Stanislaus - Bishop & Martyr Church

Location	Buffalo, New York
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	Stanislaus Church in Buffalo
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	June 3, 1873 (1873-06-03)
Founder(s)	Jan Pitass
Architecture
Functional status	"Active"
Architect(s)	T.O.Sullivan
Style	Romanesque
Groundbreaking	August 10, 1882 (current church)
Completed	October 17, 1886
Specifications
Length	192 feet (58.5 m)
Width	104 feet (31.7 m)
Height	217 feet (66.1 m)
Materials	Jammerthal flint stone with lockport limestone trim
Administration
Parish	Theresa Gonciarz

St. Stanislaus - Bishop & Martyr Church is located in Buffalo, New York. You can find it on the city's east side. This church is the oldest Polish church in the area. It's known as the "Mother Church of Polonia" for western New York. This means it was a very important starting point for Polish people in the region.

A Look Back: The Church's Story
Building This Amazing Church
- Fixing Up the Church
St. Stanislaus Today
Gallery
See also

A Look Back: The Church's Story

The church community started on June 8, 1873. It was founded by Reverend Jan Pitass and a group called the Society of Saint Stanislaus. The first church building was made of wood and had two stories. It was built in 1874. After the current church was finished in 1886, the old wooden church became a school.

By 1904, St. Stanislaus was one of the largest churches in the United States. It had almost 20,000 members! Nearly 2,000 children went to the school. Inside the church, there's a special pipe organ from 1893. It was made by Johnson & Son. The church also has three beautiful altars made of carrara marble. The main altar is very tall, about 34 feet high.

In 1889, a cemetery for St. Stanislaus was created. It's located nearby in Cheektowaga, NY and covers 20 acres of land. Later, in 1965, a social center was built near the church. This center gives people a place to gather.

Building This Amazing Church

Work on the church you see today began on August 10, 1882. It took almost four years to build! In 1908, more features were added. These included the tall steeples (the pointed towers), bells, Cupolas (small domes on top), and large clocks. The clocks are 6.5 feet wide! These massive church towers reach a height of 217 feet.

Fixing Up the Church

On November 20, 2000, a big storm hit with strong winds. The storm actually blew off the cross and a cupola from the left tower of St. Stanislaus. It cost $300,000 to fix the cupola. The repairs were finished on July 11, 2003. Because of the repairs, the left and right cupolas now look a little different in color.

In 2005, the church had its biggest repair and update ever. This huge project included adding 8 new clock faces and 4 new bells to the clock towers. The old pipe organ from 1893 was also fixed up. Workers also took care of the beautiful stained glass windows and the handmade wooden doors. A special gold-leaf design was added to the church's entrance area, called the vestibule. New lights were also put in for the fountain statue outside. All this work cost about US$2 million!

St. Stanislaus Today

In 2009, Thaddeus Bocianowski became the seventh pastor of this historic church. The Roman Catholic Church has been making some changes to its churches. Because fewer people were attending, St. Stanislaus was given a new role on October 11, 2009. It was renamed "a shrine to St. Stanislaus and all Polish martyrs." It also became a Polish cultural center.

Sadly, the school on Wilson Street closed in 2008. This happened because only 75 students were enrolled. The school had been open for 127 years! It was always staffed by the Felician sisters during its long history.