As I stated
in my introductory post to this blog, even though I am from Erie, Pennsylvania,
much of the subject matter will have to do with Buffalo.
I have a
great affection for Buffalo’s Polish Churches.
It began when I was a young boy and I saw the abandoned Transfiguration
Church.
Before that,
it never occurred to me that Churches could close, and worse to be abandoned
like that.
It is
impossible to go through the entire history of St. John Kanty Parish in one
blog post. So, I am giving you some highlights of the history and items from my
personal archives as well as reflecting on my recent visit to the Church before
its closure.
My first introduction to St. John Kanty’s
Church rich and storied history was the same way I discovered most of the
others in Buffalo; on their website the Polish Genealogical Society of
New York State. They used to have short histories of every Polish
Parish in Western New York compiled by the late Mike Drabik. Since this is no longer on their website,
here is a link from the year 2000 through the courtesy of the Internet
Archive’s ever useful Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20000919121012/http://www.pgsnys.org/Churches/stjohnkanty.html
In my early use of the internet, which was dial up, I
would read these church stories over and over again. This was a big deal at the
time considering there was not as much on the internet as there is now.
It was a few years later as I wrote in my original
introduction to Heart of Polonia that I received the VHS tapes of the Polish
Churches of Buffalo produced by the Permanent Chair of Polish Culture at
Canisius College. It was there that I
first saw Kantowo, and the beauty and architecture of the church. My grandfather told me that years ago they
went to an early Sunday morning Mass at Kanty after a Lil’ Wally Dance at St.
Stanislaus.
Since then
so many churches have closed in Buffalo and around the country, it’s almost
become commonplace.
I have been
following St. John Kanty for many years and hoped things would eventually turn
around for them. But, it was not to be.
When the
Buffalo Diocese stated that the Church’s last Mass would be May 18th,
I had to get there. I was not able to
come to any of the weekend Masses, so I made special arrangements to come,
visit, and pray at this magnificent Church!
Long time Parishioner
and Kanty Facebook page Administrator, Judith Felski, was our most gracious
host. We spoke about the history and her sharing of her time there, especially
with her involvement in the Choir, Team Pierogi and Placek making. (By the way,
I can attest that their Placek was one of the most delicious I have ever
tasted!)
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The closing
was not due to the many efforts of the small number of faithful people who
tried fundraisers and other ways to keep Kanty going.
It was for
the same old reason, the neighborhood demographics changed, the Polish people
moved out and those that remained could not keep it open. And I am not forgetting about the Priest
scandal which turned many Catholics away.
People loved
this Parish so much that they even left their cremated remains in a special
Columbarium, the Good Shepherd Memorial Chapel.
I always
felt that of course while you want a full church for Mass, there is something
about being alone in a church where you feel the magnificence and beauty and
peaceful space, built so beautifully, with symbols of our Polish Culture and
Heritage. I am sure the founding members
of St. John Kanty would never have foreseen this magnificent Church ever close;
it was built for the ages! Even a fire could not fully destroy it!
It survived
fire, weather, but it could not survive without its people.
There is so
much history that I thought I could cover in one blog post, but I can’t. Here
is some I have found so interesting.
I wanted to
do this blog to mark this sad milestone.
One of the
most notable Priests of St. John Kanty:
Rev. Msgr.
Andrew Gartska
Pastor from
1910-1941
Rev. Msgr.
Andrew Garstka was considered one of the outstanding leaders among the clergy
of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York. Bishop Duffy said of him: "He will
long be remembered as one who brought the influence of religion on a relatively
new community and lived to see the influence of the Faith show itself in the
successful lives of the men and women who had looked to him for guidance."
“St. John
Kanty served a crime ridden section of the city until the arrival of Fr.
Andrzej Garstka who made his flock too
busy to be bad.” A quote from an article
shared by Christopher Byrd in his blog.
Here is the
link from his blog to a most influential Priest of Buffalo:
https://stjohnkantychurchbuffalo.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/st-john-kanty-a-hard-boiled-parish/
In summation
Fr. Garstka turned a saloon infested neighborhood with gangs and fights and
dance halls into a respectable area. He
opened up a gymnasium, started a number of baseball teams to keep the boys out
of trouble, taught the young women sewing and cooking classes, held respectable
dances and even taught English classes etc.
He found people to work for him to help turn St. John Kanty into the
jewel of the neighborhood.
ST. JOHN
KANTY LYCEUM
The Lyceum
officially opened in September 1933.
This building offered room for meetings, concerts, movies, and
plays. It was built with state of the
art sound and lighting and equipment for its time. The building was also built
with bowling alleys, a gymnasium, even a Labor College to teach carpentry,
drafting, the arts, etc.
In 1939, a
movie entitled “Peasant Wedding,” a
Polish musical was filmed in color in Buffalo, some in the St. John Kanty
Lyceum itself, and was sponsored by the Lyceum. The Rev. Msgr. Andrew Gartska
and Assistant Pastor Rev. Joseph Stelmach served as supervisors.
I will have
more on this film in a future blog.
In its
heyday, St. John Kanty was known for their Chorus under the direction of John
Lezon. The Chorus was not only well
versed in Polish music but sang everything from Italian Opera to African-American
Spirituals.
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There were
two fires at St. John Kanty; one in 1948, and a more significant one on January
12, 1955.
VARIOUS NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS OF THE 1955 FIRE.
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Dziennik Dla Wszystkich January 13, 1955
In her column “Buflopole Highlights” for the Dziennik Dla Wszystkich dated Saturday Jan 15, 1955, Teresa Daily wrote, “Not many know that after the fire in St. John Kanty Church was put under control, three fire fighters removed their helmets and knelt to pray in the last pew of the burned Church.”
There is so
much more to share, but at another time.
We remember
St. John Kanty Church, its founders, Priests, and its faithful people. May it never be forgotten.
Święty Jana Kantego, módl się za nami!
St. John
Kanty, pray for us!
P.S. On a sidenote, in my research, I found one of
my Polka Heroes, Larry Trojak, founder and leader of the Dynatones was the
Class President of St. John Kanty School during the 1966 Millenium of
Christianity.
He is now
the leader of “Live it Up” the Lil’ Wally tribute band!
