St. Salome

In 1908, Mrs. Salome Boucher conceived the idea of building a Catholic chapel in Northeast Irondequoit to minister to summer visitors at Sea Breeze and Point Pleasant. Bp. Thomas Hickey, the second Bishop of Rochester, approved the proposal, leading to the creation of St. Salome's mission chapel—the first Catholic church in Irondequoit. Mrs. Boucher gave land at the southwest corner of Culver Road and Park Road for a modest wooden chapel bearing her patron saint's name. The dedication by Bp. Hickey occurred on June 14, 1908.

The original chapel was destroyed by fire on October 11, 1910. On farmland given by John Zuber, a replacement church was built the following year. The cornerstone was laid by Msgr. Dennis Curran, Diocesan Vicar General, on June 18, 1911, with the inaugural Mass on August 6th. Bp. Hickey dedicated the 300-seat structure on September 3rd.

Parish growth through the 1920s resulted in a school opening in September 1921 with 90 pupils taught by the Rochester Sisters of Mercy. On April 18, 1925, St. Salome achieved full parish status, no longer serving only as a seasonal chapel. Fr. Edward Eschrich was appointed as the first resident Pastor and remained until June 1966. Construction of the rectory finished on August 1st, 1925, followed by a convent on White Street in September 1926.

The school was enlarged in September 1952, and the church received a south wing addition with a St. Anne shrine in 1955. In 1959, the convent moved to Brad Street and was expanded the next year. Lightning struck and destroyed the second church on June 17, 1967, mirroring the fate of the first building. The ruins were demolished on April 28, 1968, and Bp. Dennis Hickey broke ground for a third church on May 12th. Architect Edward Ribson, who had designed the Notre Dame retreat house, created the new structure. Fr. Fleming offered the first Mass on May 4, 1969, and Ven. Fulton J. Sheen presided over the dedication on October 5, 1969.

A 1980 break-in brought further hardship when vandals destroyed the altar and pulpit, scattered hosts, and stole the tabernacle. Edward Ribson was brought back to design new furnishings, and Bp. Matthew Clark rededicated the restored church in 1981.

Shifting demographics led to membership decline in subsequent years. The parish school was shuttered in 1989. In June 2007, St. Salome entered a cluster arrangement with Christ the King and St. Thomas the Apostle, with a shared Pastor residing at Christ the King's rectory. The rectory, former school, and convent at St. Salome were torn down in May 2008 to make way for St. Salome Apartments, a senior housing development operated by Providence Housing Development Corporation. St. Salome, Christ the King, and St. Thomas combined with St. Margaret Mary and St. Cecilia on July 1, 2010 to create Blessed/Saint Kateri Tekakwitha parish.

After the merger, the Irondequoit Pastoral Planning Group (IPPG) did not select St. Salome and St. Thomas as sites for the new parish, leading to plans for final Masses at these locations. The last Mass at St. Salome was celebrated on September 26, 2010, ending regular worship services there. The IPPG's decision generated controversy and sparked appeals seeking to preserve St. Salome and St. Thomas in Western Irondequoit.

On January 19, 2016, Bp. Salvatore Matano issued a decree relegating St. Salome to secular purposes, with an anticipated sale of the property.