BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The tolling of the bells, coming from Our Lady of Perpetual Help, can be heard throughout this Old First Ward neighborhood. For parishioners, this church means everything to them.
Kathleen Byrns
"I've bounced around to other churches throughout my life and ended up coming back here because it was home," Byrns said.
Linda Ryndak
"My daughter is the church organist here. And she's been here since. She was 14 years old and she's now 40 and this is why I joined this church and I don't want to go anywhere else," Ryndak said.
Sue Travis
"This is my church and this is— someone once said when you walk into Our Lady of Perpetual Help church you walk into someone's parlor. You feel that love," Travis said.
Christine Fruchtel
"I've been a member of this church for 63 years. Leah's been here since she's been you know a baby," Fruchtel said.
Leah Bouquard
"My great-grandmother was married there. My sisters were baptized there. My cousin was married. Everyone has roots down at Our Lady of Perpetual Help," Bouquard said.
There's a fight to save this church after the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo recommended that it merge with a larger church in Buffalo. Our Lady of Perpetual Help is one of 15 churches in the city that would close as part of the bankrupt Diocese's restructuring plan.
READ MORE: Here are the Buffalo Catholic Diocese parishes that have been recommended to merge
"We're begging please give us the year don't close our church. I mean we've been making it so far we can continue to make," Fruchtel said.
She added that the church is financially holding steady and attendance is up.
Although it may be a tough battle to save the church, Travis said she is committed to the effort.
"Some say it's impossible but being from the First Ward we don't like that word. We're not going down without a fight," Travis said.
In an attempt to save the churches recommended to close or merge, Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) Executive Director Bernice Radle is working to designate at-risk churches as local landmarks.
This is part of a new campaign "Save our Sacred Sites."
"Local landmark status is a positive and it doesn't also require owner approval. So the Diocese doesn't have to say yes or no on this," Radle said.
This process will take a few months. Radle said PBN will put together research for landmark status applications.
Buffalo's Common Council then has the authority to approve the landmark status. If approved, this can open doors to grant funding and tax credits in the future, Radle added.
PBN is seeking donations to complete this work for more than a dozen churches as each application costs $2,500.
This is one move toward saving the church, as the future of Our Lady of Perpetual Help remains uncertain.
"We need to go ahead with positivity and that is a good step," Byrns said.
The fight doesn't stop here — parishioners are hosting a town hall on Wednesday at 6:30 pm at the Old First Ward Community Center. This will be open to the public to discuss ways to save the church.
