St. Augustine

St. Augustine Church was established to serve the working-class Catholic families of southwest Rochester who worked on the nearby railroads and in local factories. The parish opened first as a wood-framed mission of St. Patrick's Cathedral at Chili Avenue and Hobart Street in 1898, reducing the distance that Irish, English, and German Catholics would have to travel for Mass or Catholic school.

The mission became a full-fledged parish on August 24, 1906, with Father John H. O'Brien serving as the first resident pastor for nearly 39 years until his death in 1945. The present church building was constructed in 1923.

Among the founding families was John and Mary Schafer Houck. John Houck, born in Germany, worked as a tailor in Rochester. Every Sunday, he and his young sons helped convert the mission church into a school in time for Monday morning classes, exemplifying the dedication of the parish's early members.

St. Augustine served the southwest Rochester community for over a century until its closure on April 23, 2006. A centennial history of the parish was published in Rochester History journal in 1998. The former church building is now the location of the New Progressive Cathedral (COGIC).