Churches of Rochester

In the spring of 1843, the first Catholic Mass was recorded in Canandaigua at the home of Patrick Doyle on Antis Street. The following year, land was purchased for the first St. Mary's Church, with the deed dated October 16, 1844. The small church was constructed on the corner of Saltonstall and South Main Streets at a cost of $2,000.

The founding priests, brothers Bernard and William O'Reilly, traveled from St. Patrick Church in Rochester to say Masses. Remarkably, Bernard O'Reilly would later become the Bishop of Hartford, Connecticut. Father Edmund O'Connor served as the first appointed pastor from 1849 to 1858. In 1854, four Sisters of St. Joseph established a convent near St. Mary's in a house on Saltonstall Street, which also served as a boarding school and orphanage—the sisters initially taught in the church basement.

The parish acquired the Granger property on North Main Street in 1873, and the first St. Mary's School was built in 1880. The present church, a significant upgrade from the earlier buildings, was dedicated on December 17, 1905, and continues to serve the Canandaigua community. In 2012, St. Mary's merged with St. Bridget's to form St. Benedict Parish of Ontario County. A historical marker was erected in 2012 at the intersection of Main and Gibson Streets commemorating the parish's rich history.

Church Information