St. Aloysius

Fr. John J. McGrath received a letter dated June 16, 1901 from Bp. Thomas J. Hickey (at that time still a priest) directing him to find a location in Northwest Auburn near Division and Van Anden Streets for a new parish. On June 29th, two weeks later, Fr. McGrath departed his assignment at St. Patrick's church in Moravia to undertake this task. The parish was incorporated as St. Alphonsus on July 6, 1901.

A convent was the first parish property, purchased on Gullfoyle Ave for $125. The Cochrane and Bachman properties on Van Anden St. were acquired on Aug. 8, 1901 for $6,000, with the existing buildings sold through a raffle. The Bachman lot became the church construction site. D. W. Barnes and Son served as contractors, with stonework performed by Mr. Daniel Bennett. Groundbreaking for St. Aloysius church occurred on Dec. 24, 1901. Before the church was finished, Masses were held at Arcade Hall in the O'Neill building on Clark St., starting Oct. 31, 1901 with services at 8 and 10:30 AM on Sundays.

Bp. Hickey laid the cornerstone on Mar. 30, 1902 before a crowd of approximately 5,000 people. The St. Aloysius school welcomed its first students on September 2nd under Sr. Mary Teresa's direction, with initial enrollment of 276. Bp. McQuaid dedicated the completed church on Oct. 5, 1902. An additional convent was later constructed on Wall St. at a cost of $1,200. The Rosary Society was founded on Dec. 8, 1902, followed by the Holy Name Society on Dec. 13, 1902.

Work on the Wall St. parish hall, which earned the nickname "The Grand," commenced in July 1904 and concluded in 1906. Fr. John Crowley assumed the pastorate of St. Alphonsus on July 1, 1925 and served for many years. During his tenure, he received notification of reassignment to St. Ann in Hornell, but Bp. Kearney granted his request to remain at St. Aloysius until retirement.

The parish later purchased a convent at 159 Van Anden St. for $3,500. St. Aloysius continued its ministry for many years, but declining attendance and finances eventually necessitated sharing a Pastor with another parish. In 1982, St. Aloysius entered a cluster arrangement with nearby Holy Family church under Conrad Sundholm, then a diocesan priest. Sustaining the parish through this decline required difficult measures, including selling the rectory, convent, and parish hall.

Attendance and revenue losses persisted into the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, approximately 110 families were registered, totaling 161 parishioners. The small congregation warranted only one weekend Mass. At that point, the parish was depleting its reserves and projections indicated it could remain viable only until late 1995 or early 1996. On Jan. 10, 1995, the parish council convened to consider St. Aloysius's future. Following a vote, the council resolved to petition Bp. Matthew Clark for closure.

Bp. Clark approved the petition and issued a decree of suppression and relegation on Apr. 12, 1995, taking effect June 27, 1995. The bishop presided at the final Mass on June 27th, joined by two priests who had once been parishioners. After closure, the St. Aloysius statue was relocated to a shrine at Holy Family church's entrance—the parish with which St. Aloysius had been clustered since 1982 and where many former parishioners chose to worship. Other religious articles were returned to donor families or transferred to other parishes. The former church building remains standing and currently houses "First Love Fellowship and Ministries."