BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — “It's very difficult,” declared Diane Colby, parishioner. All Saints Church.
Another Roman Catholic community is getting ready to say goodbye to their beloved church. Parishioners at All Saints Church in Buffalo's Riverside neighborhood are preparing to shut down for good.
Over the weekend, parishioners packed St. Andrew’s Church in the Town of Tonawanda, holding their last mass.
Now All Saints Church will be closing this coming weekend. A final mass will be held this Saturday, July 6 at 4 p.m.
It's all part of the Buffalo Diocese's plan to close and merge churches across Western New York.
The diocese announced in May it would be shutting down 34 percent of its parishes and 38 percent of its worship spaces.
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But as 7 News Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley tells us, it's heartbreaking for parishioners to say goodbye to their church.
Colby has attended All Saints her entire life.
“I was baptized here,” commented Colby.
Holding back her emotions, she sat to speak with me from the pew she sits in each week and reflected on the church's final Mass, being held this Saturday.
“Saturday, my son will be sitting in this pew with me, along with my husband, and his family for the last time,” reflected Colby.
The church has been her home of faith for 71 years.
"Remembering when my son was baptized over the baptismal font when he made his first communion, and he was a reader and eucharistic minister. And then when my parents were buried from this church,” recalled Colby.
As part of the Road to Renewal, the Buffalo Diocese told parishioners the church would close as soon as a buyer was found.
"What is it about this church that makes you feel so at home?” Buckley questioned.
“It's not so ostentatious. It's very colonial, and I know just about all the parishioners. A lot of them I met when our kids were going to school, and we're good friends,” Colby replied.
Colby tells me she’s not sure she wants to stay in the Catholic Community of North Buffalo family of parishes and is now shopping for a new church.
“I recently went to St. Paul’s on Delaware because my great nephew was baptized. It's air-conditioned. We kind of liked the church, but I haven't been to St. Margaret yet, so I would like to try St. Margaret’s,” replied Colby,
I reached out to Father Bryan Zielenieski who's leading the Road to Renewal, and he said, “A new owner will be taking possession of this property,” but doesn't know the exact date.
For now, Colby is trying to find new homes for some of the religious artifacts that cannot be left behind.
“The altar has to leave. All the statues have to leave. We haven't found a home for the altar. We haven't found a home for Mary and Joseph,” Colby explained.
The altar is unique, featuring a depiction of the Last Supper, and is carved all from one piece of mahogany.
Colby said the altar was created by an Italian woodcarver in 1962.
“I just love the altar. It means a great deal to so many of us. In the face of Jesus. is the woodcarver’s father's face,” Colby noted.
Saturday's final Mass will be followed by a celebration in the former school gym.
Parishioners have been gathering up all types of items from the church and school for a final farewell.
One of the parishioners I spoke with, who did not want to go on camera, tells me that 56 years ago she walked down that church aisle to be married and now she feels like an orphan with the church closing.
