St. Bridget

St. Bridget's Church was established on April 21, 1854, to serve the growing Irish immigrant community in northeast Rochester. Irish immigrants had been arriving in Rochester since the early 1820s, but their numbers swelled dramatically during and after the Great Famine of 1845-1847. St. Bridget's became the focal center of this tight-knit Irish Catholic community, helping immigrants cope with discrimination and adapt to life in America through their shared faith.

The congregation first worshipped in a small church on Hand Street built in 1854. As the parish grew, a larger church was needed. The present Romanesque-style church building, designed by architect Charles Coots, was dedicated on April 12, 1875. The original 1854 building was then converted into the parish school.

Among St. Bridget's notable pastors was Father Thomas A. Hendrick, who served from 1891 to 1903 before being named Bishop of Cebu in the Philippines. The parish served generations of Rochester Catholics for nearly 150 years before closing on September 7, 1997. In 2010, St. Bridget's merged with Immaculate Conception Parish. Today, the congregation—now one of the largest African American Catholic communities in Rochester—reflects the changing demographics of the neighborhood along Frederick Douglass Street.