Churches of Rochester
St. Theresa

St. Theresa

Closed

City of Rochester, Monroe County

St. Theresa Church was established on September 10, 1927, as a Polish national parish in northeast Rochester. The parish was named for St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the French Carmelite nun who had been canonized just two years earlier in 1925. From its founding, the parish was staffed by the Conventual Franciscans (OFM Conv.), a religious order with deep roots in Polish Catholic communities.

The church building was completed in November 1928, providing the Polish community with their own place of worship. For nearly six decades, the Conventual Franciscans served St. Theresa, with a succession of Polish-speaking friars ministering to the community. Father Bruno Dobala, OFM Conv., served for about a decade in the late 1940s and 1950s, providing stability during the post-war years.

Father Felix Bracikowski, OFM Conv., served as the final Conventual Franciscan pastor from 1979 to 1985, marking the end of an era for the parish. After the Franciscans' departure, diocesan priests assumed leadership.

St. Theresa closed on June 8, 1997, after 70 years of serving Rochester's Polish Catholic community. Like many ethnic national parishes, St. Theresa faced declining membership as Polish-Americans assimilated and moved to the suburbs, but its legacy lives on in the generations of faithful it served.

Exterior Photographs

Exterior. Front of the church. Statue of Our Lady. Church sign. Corner stone.

Interior Photographs

Interior. View from back left corner. Altar. Crucifix. Pulpit. Tabernacle. Baptismal font and paschal candle. Left side. Right side. Choir area. Back left corner. Back right corner. Stained glass in corner. Back of the church. Back of the church seen from angle. View from front right corner. Back right corner. Back right corner. Processional crucifix. Pentecost painting. Statue of St. Francis. Sacred heart statue. Icon of Our Lady. Painting of Our Lady. Statue of St. Bridget (?). Statue. Statue of St. Theresa. Painting of St. Bridget. St. Anne statue. St. Fracis and Christ statue. Painting of Christ. Wood cross. Holy family statues. Confessional.

Stained Glass

St. Theresa St. Theresa St. Theresa St. Theresa St. Theresa St. Theresa

Chapel

Interior of chapel (former sanctuary). Various devotional items. Crucifix. Stations of the cross. Stations of the cross. Back wall. Altar. Ambry.

Historical Photographs

Exterior of church, 1939. Source: Catholic Courier Golden Jubilee Edition: 1889-1939 Another old photograph of the church exterior, undated. Sanctuary, 1966.