Churches of Rochester
Our Lady of Victory

Our Lady of Victory

Active

City of Rochester, Monroe County

Our Lady of Victory is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Rochester, established in 1848 by French and Belgian Catholics. Originally known as "St. Mary French Church" or simply "the Little French Church," it served Rochester's French-speaking immigrant community. The parish was renamed Our Lady of Victory in 1868.

The current church building, designed by noted Rochester architect Andrew Jackson Warner in the French Romanesque Revival style, was completed in 1868. The red-brick cruciform plan church features two slender towers with distinctive concave roofs, a recessed entrance, and beautiful semi-circular stained glass windows.

Services were originally conducted in French, and later in Flemish to serve the growing Flemish and Dutch population. English did not become the official language of the parish until 1940. A fire gutted the building in 1912, and the parish made do with patchwork repairs for decades before a complete restoration was undertaken in 2018.

In recognition of its architectural and historical significance, Our Lady of Victory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The parish was renamed Our Lady of Victory/St. Joseph in 1975 following a fire at the nearby St. Joseph church.

Exterior Photographs

Front of the church. From right angle. From left angle. Right side. Designated landmark plaque. Statue of St. Joseph, left side of the church. Relief above main entrance. Cross atop church. Our Lady of Victory shrine.

Historical Photographs

Interior, 1896. Source: Rochester Public Library. Interior, 1926. Source: Albert Stone collection. Interior. From back left corner. From front left corner. Back of the church. From front right corner. From back right corner. Sanctuary. High altar from right. High altar from left. Statues atop the reredo. Altar. Pulpit. Sacred Heart statue. Left side altar. Painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that survived the fire at the former St. Joseph's church. Statue in sanctuary. Relief of Christ. Baptismal font. Statue of Our Lady. Statue of St. Joseph. Statue of St. Anthony. Statue of St. Jude. Statue of St. Therese. Infant of Prague statue. Relief on choir loft. Pipe organ. Inscription on floor at the entrance. Plaque in entryway. Plaque in entryway. Plaque in entryway.