Churches of Rochester
St. Stanislaus

St. Stanislaus

Active

City of Rochester, Monroe County

In the spring of 1887, a group of perhaps two dozen men gathered at St. Michael's Church and committed themselves to an ambitious goal: building a new church for their families and other Polish immigrants that would serve as the unifying center for Rochester's Polish community.

These immigrants had left a homeland carved into sections by Prussia, Russia, and Austria-Hungary, traveled by train, cart, or on foot to Baltic ports for a ten-day Atlantic crossing, and made their way to Rochester seeking employment in factories, garment mills, and growing industries. The parish was officially incorporated on May 7, 1888, becoming the seventh Polish Catholic congregation in New York State.

The original church, a modest wooden chapel, was erected in 1890 and dedicated by Bishop McQuaid on November 16 of that year. The current church, a magnificent brick structure, was dedicated on August 1, 1909, replacing the smaller wooden building. A convent was added in 1915 and a rectory in 1918.

The church's interior features forty-six stained glass windows created by Tyrolean Glass Works in Innsbruck, Austria, installed between 1912 and 1924. The stunning sanctuary dome mural by Buffalo artist Joseph Mazur depicts eighteen saints, kings, and beatified holy ones who figure prominently in Polish and Eastern European Catholic history. The parish school, operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph, opened in 1897 and served generations of children until closing in 1992.

Throughout its history, St. Stanislaus Parish has served as a spiritual home to thousands and as the heart of Rochester's Polonia neighborhood, where Polish families built homes, tree-lined streets, shops, and social clubs. The church also houses a relic of Pope John Paul II containing a drop of his blood.

Exterior Photographs

Exterior. Front seen from right angle. Seen from right angle. Right side. Right transept. Cornerstone. Church sign.

Interior Photographs

Interior, lit up. Interior, no lights. From back left corner. Right side. Right transept. From front left corner. Back of the church. From front right corner. Left transept. Left side. From back right corner. Front of the church. Sanctuary from left angle. Sanctuary. High altar and reredo. Statue of St. Stanislaus. Last Supper relief in high altar. Sanctuary with portable altar for Ordinary Form Masses. Altar. Ambo. Sanctuary ceiling painting. Painting atop nave. Inscription on choir loft. Sacred Heart altar. Our Lady altar. Statue of Our Lady. Shrine to St. John Paul II and Our Lady of Czestochowa. Shrine to St. Francis. St. Francis of Assisi statue. Angel and Our Lady of Fatima statue. Angel statue. Crucifix. Statue of St. Joseph. Statue of St. Agnes. Statue of St. Theresa. Statue of St. Anthony. Angel holy water font. Baptismal font. Confessional. Statue of St. Peter. Statue of St. Paul. Banner in narthex. Narthex. Design on pillar.

Chapel

Entrance to chapel. Chapel interior. Right side of chapel. Back left corner. Celebrant's chair (now in the sanctuary of the church). Painting of Our Lady. Sacred heart statue. St. Theresa statue.

Stations of the Cross

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Crests on ceiling

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Stained Glass

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Historical Photographs

Exterior of original church. Source: Rochester History - Seeking Prosperity: A Brief History of Rochester's Polish American Community Photograph of original church, 1892. Source: Roman Catholic Institutions of the City of Rochester, N.Y. Another photograph of the original church. Exterior of church, 1939. Source: Catholic Courier Golden Jubilee Edition: 1889-1939 Exterior of present church, 1924. Source: Albert R. Stone negative collection Church as photographed in 1983. Source: Rochester City Hall photolab