St. Lucy

The surge of Italian immigrants arriving in Rochester led to the founding of several Italian-American parishes in the early 1900s: St. Anthony of Padua in 1906, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in 1909, Church of the Annunciation (St. Agnes) in 1917, Our Lady of Sorrows in 1924, and St. Francis of Assisi in 1929. Among these was St. Lucy, established by Bp. Thomas F. Hickey in 1912 to minister to Italians in the city's southwest quadrant. Fr. Mario Catalano was named the first Pastor, and construction of a church at the corner of Troup and Tilden Streets commenced in 1912. A temporary rectory was obtained on Tilden St., though it lacked modern conveniences including indoor plumbing. During church construction, the congregation gathered for worship in the old 1859 Ss. Peter & Paul church on King St. and in the parish convent.

The St. Lucy church building was finished in 1913. Furnishings from the soon-to-be-demolished Ss. Peter & Paul church were incorporated into the new structure, including the altar, stained glass windows, pews, and even bricks. The young parish counted approximately 1,200 members. In fall 1912, the parish school opened with Sisters of St. Joseph as teachers. Without an on-site convent, the sisters lived at the St. Mary orphan asylum and St. Patrick girl's asylum.

Rectory construction began in 1925 and finished in summer 1926. The mid-1920s brought continued expansion, with school enrollment reaching 268 students. A temporary convent on Clifton St. was eventually succeeded by a permanent one on Reynolds St. in 1943. During Fr. Ventura's pastorate, a successful fundraising drive enabled remodeling of the church interior.

In 1963, the parish marked its Golden Jubilee. Bp. Kearney came to bless a new stained glass window above the main entrance. Despite the celebration, decline was setting in. School enrollment had dropped from the 260s of the 1920s to just 160 by 1963—nearly half. The school closed a decade later in 1973, and the church followed soon after. A controversial closure decision resulted in St. Lucy's shutting down in June 1975. The church building was sold to Lily of the Valley Church of God In Christ for $75,000.

Former St. Lucy parishioners maintained cordial relations with Lily of the Valley over the years, whose leadership preserved much of the church's interior. Occasional Masses were held in the former church, including a 1995 reunion Mass with Bp. Dennis Hickey presiding. A statue of Christ in the tomb, located in a covered side shrine, was rediscovered years later in its original position. The decision was made to leave the statue in place. Tragically, fire destroyed the church in 2001. The bell from above the main entrance survived by falling to the ground during the blaze and now stands on display in front of the St. Padre Pio chapel in Gates, serving as a lasting memorial to the former St. Lucy church.