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Holy trinity cHurcH
Holy Trinity was founded by German immigrants who settled in Webster and were unable to travel to St. Joseph, the German parish in Rochester.
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The community’s rst Mass was celebrated by Father Francis N. VanEmstede, CSsR, on May 22, 1859, in the State Road home of the widow of Ignatius Eichhorn. Following the Mass, 45 families from Webster, Ontario, Pen eld and Walworth contributed $300 toward the building of a church. Land was purchased on the north side of Webster’s Ridge Road, and the cornerstone was laid on May 26, 1861 by Father Peter (Thaddaeus) Alexander, CSsR, rector of Rochester’s St. Joseph Church. The building was dedicated three months later on Aug. 5, and in 1866, an additional six acres were purchased for a parish cemetery. In 1867, the parish’s rst
pastor, Father A. Heckinger, was appointed.
The current church at 1460 Ridge Road was completed in 1901 and was dedicated that year on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity.
The parish continued to grow and prosper in the 1960s and 1970s. With more than 1,000 families in
the parish by 1968, a steering committee explored the possibility of moving the church building closer to Route 104. When the proposal didn’t seem practical, the parish went ahead with plans to demolish the rectory and add two wings to the church, increasing seating capacity from 430 to 700. Construction began on June 25, 1968, and the project was completed by October 1969.
In 1999, the former convent became the home to Trinity House of H.O.P.E. (Holy Trinity’s Outreach Program for Everyone), the parish’s ministry to Webster’s needy called. Now called Hope Ministry, the organization provides food, clothing and other material needs to those facing nancial crises.
In 2002 the parish added a large gathering space. The parish center, called Murphy Hall, was added six years later.