St. Jude the Apostle

Fr. John Steger had served for years as Parochial Vicar at St. Theodore and aspired to become its Pastor, but events unfolded differently. Ven. Fulton J. Sheen, then serving as Bishop of Rochester, was forming a new parish in Gates. Established on June 27, 1968 with Fr. Steger as its founding Pastor, the unnamed parish sought input from the community regarding its name. Over a two-week period, approximately 450 people cast votes on 30 proposed names, with "St. Jude the Apostle church" emerging as the selection. The first Mass was offered on August 4, 1968 in the former Elmgrove Methodist church situated at the southwest corner of Elmgrove and Spencerport roads—a structure that remains standing as retail space today.

For its permanent location, the parish purchased 40 acres from Unger Farms on Lyell Road. A former dairy barn was transformed into a church that would serve the congregation for 25 years. On November 1, 1968, the first Mass was celebrated in this converted barn. Holy Family church in Rochester city donated a St. Jude statue that was placed inside. The neighboring milk house was razed in July 1969 and succeeded by a 4,200-square-foot parish hall with religious education facilities. The parish was legally incorporated in August 1969, owing $133,018.08 to Unger Farms. The inaugural parish festival and "turkey fest" took place in September 1969, beginning an ongoing tradition.

In the early 1970s, a large hand-carved St. Jude statue was erected facing Lyell Road. On February 21, 1970, St. Jude offered its first Saturday evening Mass satisfying the Sunday obligation—a practice that persists today. During the early 1970s, two transitional deacons served at the parish: Deacon Paul Ryan finished a year of ministry in 1972 prior to his 1973 ordination (his first Mass as a priest was celebrated at St. Jude), and Deacon Robert Gaudio ministered from 1972 to 1973 before being ordained.

Work on the parish center and rectory started in 1973, which was also the year the annual October novena to St. Jude began. In 1975, the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse donated a statue depicting St. Joseph with the child Jesus, which currently occupies the back left corner of the present church. A nursery school opened in September 1976 and operated for years in the old rectory building adjacent to the barn church. The grain silo was repurposed as a bell tower in 1978.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, multiple parish organizations came into being: a senior club, Legion of Mary, annual R&R retreat weekend, men's club, and Marian League. The parish engaged in charitable work, including operating a food cupboard for Gates residents facing hardship. Knights of Columbus council #10758 was chartered in December 1991.

By the late 1980s, expansion continued with registered families surpassing 950. The barn church could no longer accommodate the congregation, leading to plans for a larger permanent structure. Following multiple design revisions—including a diocesan requirement for off-center tabernacle placement—an 850-seat church was finished in June 1993, marking St. Jude's 25th anniversary. Bp. Matthew Clark presided at the inaugural Mass. Later additions included a gymnasium, kitchen, and religious education spaces. Above the main entrance were mounted three stained glass windows that had once hung above the high altar at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Rochester—before Eastman Kodak Company acquired and razed that cathedral in 1937. These windows had been in storage at Notre Dame Retreat House on Alexander Street until Bp. Hickey presented them to Fr. Steger in 1968.

The parish maintained its growth trajectory through the 1990s and 2000s. Having sat empty for nearly five years, the former barn church and parish hall were demolished at the end of 2005. Until 2000, St. Nicholas Melkite church had held liturgies in the old building while awaiting completion of their new church on Spencerport Road. Upheaval came to St. Jude in early 2006 when Fr. Steger was placed on leave on May 17th, just before his scheduled 50th anniversary Mass. Fr. William Cosgrove, who had been serving as an assisting priest, stepped in as interim administrator. On June 27, 2006, Fr. Michael Schramel arrived as Parochial Administrator, transferring from Peace of Christ parish in Irondequoit/N.E. Rochester. Fr. Steger passed away in 2008, and Fr. Schramel received official appointment as Pastor that June. Subsequent changes included reducing weekend Masses from five to three, prompting many longtime parishioners to leave. In June 2010, Bp. Clark grouped the parish in a cluster with nearby Holy Ghost and St. Helen's. Fr. James Hewes, previously Pastor of St. Joseph in Rush, became Parochial Vicar serving under Fr. Schramel, who headed the new Gates Catholic Community cluster. Weekend Masses were cut further to two, and weekday Masses became limited to Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Under Fr. Schramel's leadership, several beautification initiatives have been undertaken: tree plantings along the parking lot approach, small outdoor statues including one at the site of the former church and a Holy Family figure near the rectory, outdoor Stations of the Cross positioned beside the pond, and a large nativity display nearby.