The Buffalo church that in 1976 hosted Cardinal Karol Wojtyla – who became globe-trotting Pope John Paul II and St. John Paul II after his death – is the latest Catholic church in danger of being shut down because it can’t pay its bills.
Parishioners of St. Casimir, a multi-domed architectural gem built in 1929 and believed to be the first church in the United States with a Byzantine Romanesque design, recently made a $5,000 payment to the Buffalo Diocese to keep the building insurance from lapsing and to stave off closure – at least through the end of March.
Longtime church members said the Kaisertown church should be saved because it is a one-of-a-kind structure in Western New York that offers a unique Catholic experience.
A Buffalo Diocese spokesman confirmed on Friday that St. Lawrence Church at 1520 E. Delavan Ave. will shut down due to fiscal struggles and a lack of sacramental ministries.
“People who come here say, ‘I can’t get this anywhere else,’” said Lisa Molle, who drives from Williamsville for the weekly “five senses” worship experience that regularly features the burning of incense and other traditions ignored by most parishes.
Molle said she and her husband “cried at every Mass” for the first few months they…
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