A Brief History of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Lake View, NY.
In March of 1921, ten of the thirteen Catholic families in Lake View met to discuss the formation of a Lake View parish, and the building of a church and rectory. They elected a building committee, which met personally with Bishop Turner, and secured his approval. Through donations and land purchases, the prospective parish was provided with one and a half acres of land. The following year they raised sufficient funds to proceed with construction. In August of 1922, the basement of the new Lake View church was completed, and Mass began to be offered there by the first pastor, Fr. Leo J. Toomey. The cornerstone was laid on October 1, 1922, and on Sunday, October 22, 1922, Bishop Turner dedicated the church to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It became known as OLPH. Following the Second World War, the accelerated growth of the parish persuaded OLPH parishioners to undertake a building program which was able to include a new church, rectory, school and convent. Additional land purchases provided the parish with an area of about 10 acres, which make up the present campus of the St. John Paul II Parish. The OLPH church family adopted an expansion plan, approved by Bishop Burke, which called for the construction of a convent and a school, which could also be used as a church. The school building was completed in 1961, and Sunday Masses began in the “Auditorium” church. School classes began in September of 1962. The convent was finished a year later. During the next thirty years, a steady growth in housing construction brought a gradual increase in parish membership. In 1983, a decision was made to consolidate the two area Catholic schools, OLPH & St. Vincent’s school in North Evans. The new school was named “Southtowns Catholic,” and utilized the school facilities at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lake View. The former St. Vincent De Paul School housed the Southtowns Pre-School Learning Center and the Religious Education Program. In September of 1990, Father John Zeitler became pastor of the OLPH Parish. In 1997, as the parish celebrated its 75th Anniversary, and the community continued to grow, it became apparent that the parish would outgrow the facilities. Father John and the Parish Leadership Team began to consider how to meet the challenges presented by this continued growth. The Parish Property Development Committee and Building Maintenance Committee were both formed to study the future needs of the parish. Ultimately, a recommendation was made to seek permission from Bishop Mansell to build a new church. In 1999, permission was granted, and the Capital Fund Raising Committee was formed, raising its goal of $3.5 million. The three phases of land preparation and construction began in August, 2000, and the first Masses were celebrated in the new church during the weekend of December 16-17, 2001.
A Brief History of the St. Vincent de Paul Parish, North Evans, NY
The first Roman Catholic Church in North Evans was built out of wood by German pioneer farmers in1853. Previous to that time, Father Aaron from St. Mary’s in East Eden, and other visiting priests, celebrated Mass in homes throughout the area. The Church, a mission of various neighboring parishes, became an incorporated religious society according to New York State law in 1892. It became an independent parish in 1914, and Rev. George Zucher was appointed as the first resident pastor. In 1931, the original wooden Church burned to the ground, but was quickly rebuilt. A new brick church was built on the same site, and the cornerstone was laid in August, 1931. The church was dedicated in May, 1932. The need for a parish cemetery precipitated the purchase of land, and in 1946 the cemetery was created, and roads and landscaping were completed. The parish also made plans for a school to be built. A temporary school was opened in the church basement in September of 1946, but because of a growing enrollment, a parishioner’s home was also utilized as classroom space. The St. Vincent’s School became the first parochial school in the Lake Shore area. The new St. Vincent’s School was built in 1952, and was staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamburg. On November 1, 1957, the convent was completed. A new rectory was built in 1962. The parish continued to grow from a small country parish to a large parish with 1,200 families by the 1960’s. Because of the increase in the number of parishioners, it was necessary to celebrate Sunday Masses in the church, the school and the church basement. The need for a larger church was determined, and in 1968, the new church was built across the street from the older church. That older church still stands on the original site, and houses Operation Good Neighbor, an ecumenical food distribution center and thrift shop which is run by volunteers. St. Vincent de Paul Parish celebrated their 75th Anniversary in 1989. In 1983 the St. Vincent de Paul School was consolidated with the Our Lady of Perpetual Help School to form the Southtowns Catholic School, which was located at the OLPH campus in Lake View. The original St. Vincent de Paul convent was then used to house the Southtowns pre-School Learning Center, and the school building was used to house the Religious Education Programs for both parishes. Many St. Vincent de Paul Parish ministries and organizations utilized the school building for events until 2011 when the St. Vincent de Paul property was sold following the merger of St. Vincent de Paul Parish and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish when they became Blessed John Paul II Parish, and ultimately Saint John Paul II Parish Community.
St.John Paul II Parish
In 2006, as part of the Diocesan Strategic Planning Process, a recommendation was submitted to the Diocese of Buffalo to link, and eventually merge, the St. Vincent de Paul Parish in North Evans and the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Lake View. The plan for this process was that the two separate parishes would become one, sharing and consolidating ministries, programs, activities, societies and schedules. Bishop Kmiec agreed with this recommendation, and the linking of the two parishes was announced in February of 2008. The linking model was implemented on September 1, 2010, and coincided with the retirements of Pastor John W. Zeitler of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, and Pastor William Tuyn of St. Vincent de Paul Church. Reverend Peter J. Karalus was appointed by Bishop Kmiec to pastor both parishes as part of the linking model, and began his Pastorate in September of 2010 when the linking of the two parishes took place. During the following months, the OLPH Parish Leadership Team and the St. Vincent de Paul Parish Council began meeting together to study the future of our parishes, and the “linked” status. In February 2011, these Leadership Committees concluded that it would be best for the two parishes to become one under a new name. Parishioners from both parishes were invited to take part in deciding on the name for the new parish. In May of 2011, coinciding with the Beatification of Blessed John Paul II, Bishop Kmiec announced that the new parish would be named “Blessed John Paul II Parish”, effective September 1, 2011. Blessed John Paul II was canonized on April14, 2014, and the parish became Saint John Paul II Parish Community. In March of 2019, Father Sean DiMaria was appointed the second Pastor of Saint John Paul II Parish.