St. Lawrence Parish closes its doors for the last time
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Former pastors, administrators, deacons and a church full of parishioners gathered at St. Lawrence in Buffalo to mark the final Mass of the 95-year-old parish. The parish, which is the third to close in the last two months, locked the doors after the Aug. 10 vigil Mass.
Bishop Michael W. Fisher, stood with many priests from the Buffalo parishes, as he welcomed parish administrators, deacons, sacramental ministers, lay leaders, liturgists, school alumni, neighbors, and “all who hold St. Lawrence precious in their heart.”
“We come together with heavy hearts, but we also come together as a people of God who are confident that the Lord calls us together as a family of faith,” Bishop Fisher said. “He’ll continue to be with us to strengthen us in our faith as we move forward in a time of renewal.”
Father Paul Seil, pastor from 1999 to 2007, and currently senior parochial vicar of Campus Ministry, covered a lot of ground as he reminisced in his homily about his time at the parish, Lawrence the saint, and what an end truly means.
“Here we come today to celebrate so many things that have made this building more than just a building, but a home really for a family,” he said.
Father Seil came to St. Lawrence for his first pastorate 10 years after being ordained. One of the first things he did as pastor was to move a St. Lawrence statue to the front of the church to watch over the priests.
“St. Lawrence is my friend and I look to him for intercession and for guidance,” he explained.
The third century deacon to Pope Sixtus was martyred by the Roman Emperor Valerian. When the prefect of Rome asked Lawrence to bring the treasures of the Church to him. He sold all the material goods and gave the money to the poor. Then he brought the poor to the prefect, calling them the “treasures of the Church.”
As punishment Lawrence was grilled to death. He is often credited by telling his executioners, “I’m done on this side, turn me over.”
He is now the patron of cooks, chefs and comedians.
“You don’t know if you should laugh at that or not, do you?” Father Seil asked.
Father Seil also recalled the many memorable people who passed through the glass doors, such as Magdalena, who would string garlands through the church; the many priests who were brought up in the parish such as Father Paul Bossi, who was present; Deacon Paul and Mary Weisenburger, who became the first married couple to serve as parish administrators; and the many religious sisters who served the community.
He also acknowledged the famous names from the neighborhood – Ciminelli, Amigone and Bocce. The first Salvatore’s Restaurant was also nearby on East Delevan.
St. Lawrence Parish on East Delavan 1929-2024. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Father Paul Seil recalls his tenure as pastor of St. Lawrence during the Buffalo parish’s final Mass on Aug. 10. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Eleonore Clark, known as the parish centenarian, brings the oldest sacramental register to Bishop Michael W. Fisher during offeratory procession at St. Lawrence Parish on Aug. 10. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Deacon Thomas LaBelle, Bishop Michael W. Fisher and Deacon Paul Weisenburger prepare for the Liturgy of the Eucharist at St. Lawrence Parish in Buffalo. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Father Robert Gebhard thanks everyone who made St. Lawrence Parish’s final Mass memorable. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
With a turn of the key, St. Lawrence Parish is closed. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi)
“We continue to remember those who have gone on before us. Their names are engraved not on plaques, not on buildings, but engraved on our very hearts, so that one day we will meet them again when we are all one in the sacred heart of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“So, brothers and sisters, on this tough day, in one way the last day, but in another a new beginning, we listen to the words from a letter to the Ephesians – ‘Be kind to one another. Be compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you. Be imitators of God as His lost children, and live and love as Christ loved us.’”
Father Robert Gebhard, administrator for Family #21, thanked everyone who helped to make the final Mass as memorable as the previous 95 years.
“Your hearts and your hands and the hearts and hands of so many people that have gone before all of you will always tell the story of our Catholic faith alive in this neighborhood,” he said.
Bishop Fisher offered his final remarks.
“We did a good job in encouraging people to love their parishes, love their churches. We love our church buildings. But it can’t end there,” he said. “As St. Lawrence reminded us in giving his life for the faith – you, me are the treasures of God. We, God’s people.”
Recalling his trip to Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress, where he met 55,000 Catholics with hope that the Church can be more than it has ever been, the bishop said, “Our nation needs who we are as a people of faith. And we need to come together. And we need to move in that spirit of solidarity. Solidarity and faith as we care and we revere one another, as we care and we revere what we celebrate – the sacraments – no matter where we are.”
He hopes the joy he saw in Indianapolis continues into every corner of the diocese.
“All of you will now disperse to various other churches and parishes of the diocese. My prayer is that they welcome you with open arms, that the pastors are there with a smile to welcome you into a new community, and you bring your gifts. You bring your legacy and joys and memories and good works of faith that you have accomplished here at St. Lawrence to those communities. As Father Seil reminds us, this end is a new beginning.”
St. Lawrence follows St. Andrew in Kenmore that celebrated its final Mass June 30, and All Saints in Buffalo on July 6 as recent parish closings.
