St. Thomas Aquinas Parish

History

St. Thomas Aquinas Church began just after World War I and as the "roaring twenties" were about to take off. Soon there would come the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Many parishioners would eventually be affected by the Great War (WW II). Some would even lose their lives.

Our parishioners lived during all this and much more besides: the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the revolutionary 1960s, the challenges of Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, the "me" and "X" generations, and the Persian Gulf War. Most recently we have been witness to the terrible war in Iraq.

The first Mass of the parish was celebrated outdoors on July 4, 1920 with Monsignor Nelson H. Baker present. He was a Vicar General of the Diocese of Buffalo and he built Our Lady of Victory Basilica and National Shrine in Lackawanna, NY. He was one of the first in the country to use bulk mail to raise funds to build the church.

It was in March of 1920 that the first pastor, Father Eugene Reagan, made the public announcement that a new parish would be started. "The necessity of a new church in this vicinity to care for the Catholic people has long been apparent. This section of the city has grown steadily, and within ten years the meadows which once predominated will be covered with homes, he said." Bishop Turner confirmed the plan and officially created the new parish to be a "center for the furtherance of devotion to St. Thomas Aquinas for purity of life and sanctity of home."

The new parish (incorporated on April 12, 1920) would be built on the Brady Homestead, a parcel of land purchased for $21,000. The original stucco church on Athol Street cost $12,930 to build. In its early days the parish was made up of about 500 families and reached 1600 families by the 1960s.

Father Eugene Reagan served as first pastor from 1920 until June 15, 1942 when Msgr. John Boland (the labor relations priest) became pastor and served until 1968 when Msgr. Eugene E. O'Loughlin (1920 - 2004) was appointed pastor, a ministry he served for 27 years. In 1995 Father Art Smith was appointed pastor by Bishop Henry Mansell (now Archbishop of Hartford, CT) as one of Bishop Mansell's first official appointments. Father Art Smith has served at St. Thomas Aquinas for over twelve years. The parish has had only four pastors in its 88 year history along with a multitude of associates.

The cornerstone for our parochial school (1921 - 2006) was laid on July 30, 1922. It was a state-of-the-art multi-purpose structure composed of classrooms, gymnasium, bowling alleys, basketball court, stage and auditorium. It was completed in two years costing $140,000! (The original school was housed in two homes on Cumberland Avenue.)

Because of much growth another school building had to be built in 1956 to continue Catholic education under the direction of parish priests, the Sisters of Mercy and a battery of lay persons who offered their skills and talents for the betterment of the parish's children and larger community. Ms. Bernetta Kelly and Mrs. Eileen Landseadel would be the last principals of our school until it was forced to close for financial reasons. In 2006, St. Bonaventure School in West Seneca, St. Martin of Tours School and St. Thomas Aquinas School all closed and a new entity was established, Notre Dame Academy, which would soon become one of three campuses of what is now South Buffalo Catholic School. This ending of one era and the beginning of a new one was one of the most difficult times in the life of the parish. Currently our school building is being used by the Buffalo Boys and Girls Clubs, an aerobics group, an Irish dance studio and several basketball teams.

In 1949 on Thanksgiving Day, with three inches of snow on the ground, the cornerstone was laid for what would become one of the most beautiful churches in South Buffalo. Completed in 1952, the church is styled after Umbrian architecture, similar to Italian churches in Assisi and structured like its model, Santa Maria Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. Monsignor Boland had gone to Rome to bring back the design for the new church. The bell tower housed the first baptistery. Our beautiful church with its majestic monastery cloister was designed by architect George Stickle and built by Holler Brothers and Balling Brothers construction companies at a cost of $328,000.

The outer walls of the church are made of crab-colored orchard stone from Tennessee, the roofing is red Spanish tile, the Celtic cross on the tower stands nine feet and the mosaic tile was brought from the San Pietro Mosaic Factory then located behind St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

In 1998, in preparation for the Jubilee Year 2000, Father Art Smith led a capital campaign to upgrade our parish buildings and properties, a campaign to which the parish and others contributed over $550,000.

As we progress into the third millennium we realize that we must live with constant societal, economic and spiritual change. To meet these needs we established a "community table" for those in special need of food and clothing. Every Friday afternoon the "table" is open for those in need and is operated by our Outreach Committee and volunteers from the parish and the area.

Mass Schedule