LACKAWANNA, NY (WKBW) — Our Lady of Victory Shrine and Basilica in the City of Lackawanna is getting a very exciting and important designation. It has been named to New York State’s and the National Register of Historic Places, an important designation that will help secure OLV’s future and legacy.
“And today is truly a victorious day here in our 'City of Charity' here at our Lady of Victory,” declared Monsignor David LiPuma, pastor, OLV.
With this designation, OLV Shrine and Basilica on Ridge Road, the campus will now be known as Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Basilica Complex.
“This was done as part of the vision of OLV leadership to ensure the long-term viability, protection, and the preservation of the basilica and other Father Baker legacy buildings for another 100 years going forward,” remarked Monsignor LiPuma.
Monsignor LiPuma was joined by elected leaders, community members, and students outside the basilica Thursday.
OLV’s legacy goes back more than 100 years. This state and national designation will help preserve 12 buildings on the campus, making it eligible for grants and historic tax credits.
“It's not just the buildings, but what the buildings represent, and this what always gets to me, because Father Baker, he built, and he created all of this, but he did it because he wanted to take care of people,” described Monsignor LiPuma.
At the announcement Thursday from Governor Kathy Hochul’s office, Bonnie Kane Lockwood, Regional Director of Western New York, represented the state.
Lockwood noted that the Governor ironically was meeting in an audience with Pope Francis in Rome for climate change talks.
“But the Pope came first Monsignor because the governor is actually at the Vatican,” Lockwood explained.
Like so many Western New Yorkers, Lockwood talked about the Father Baker legacy.
“My mother-in-law had her certificate of birth signed by Father Baker in 1925. Her mother cooked for Father Baker,” Lockwood said.
OLV’s human services division cares for more than 12,000 children and families each year. OLV Elementary School 8th graders tell me they know about Father Baker's legacy.
As the basilica bells were tolling, I asked the students “What have you learned about Father Baker?”
“I learned that he was a very good man. He was very caring, did everything for others, very selfless and he built this beautiful church,” replied Olivia McDonald, 8th grader.
“He went from nothing to something. He built this whole church, with not a lot of money, but all the money he got was from donations and eventually they built it up,” responded Timothy Swiger, 8th grader.
Both students reflected on what it means to be at the school that carries on Father Baker’s legacy.
“That we’re making history here and we get to witness it,” noted Swiger. “I think it’s beautiful going here,” commented McDonald.
The Venerable Father Baker is entombed inside OLV and Monsignor LiPuma tells us he remains on the road to Sainthood at the Vatican.
"He was named Servant of Good in 1987. He was named Venerable in 2011 and now we need two intercessory miracles to get him beatified and canonized,” Monsignor LiPuma explained.
LiPuma said he was recently on a pilgrimage in Rome and attended a general audience with Pope Francis, where he got to speak directly to the Pope, reminding him of the works of Father Baker.
“And I said to him, ‘we have Father Baker, he’s venerable. We need two miracles – he smiled, so I’m hoping he understood,” recalls Monsignor LiPuma.
The basilica attracts thousands of visitors locally, nationally, and globally each year and the new designation could bring even more visitors.
“We just put a little mechanism in the back door to kind of track people coming in. Just in one month, there were like 16,000 people that came through that door,” Monsignor LiPuma described. “Every day you can find busloads of people coming from all over. Every day you can find people in the basilica.”
