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our lady of Peace PariSH
St. Francis de Sales and St. Stephen’s in Geneva came together in 2007 to form Our Lady of Peace Parish, but the histories of the two churches had been intertwined for more than 100 years.
In 1832, Irish immigrants began building St. Francis de Sales. Although the parish was established in 1835, its rst resident pastor, Father James McManus, didn’t arrive until 1958. In the 1860s, the current church was built on the site
of the original structure.
As Geneva’s Catholic population swelled with the arrival of Italian immigrants, St. Stephen’s was established in 1904 as a mission of St. Francis de Sales, with Father Stephen McPadden as its founding pastor. Construction of St. Stephen’s Church, a massive Gothic structure, began in 1910.
Meanwhile, St. Francis de Sales continued to grow, especially as Puerto Ricans began settling in Geneva, and parishioners added on to the church three times
St. Francis de Sales
before it was heavily damaged by a re in 1965. For a year thereafter, Masses were celebrated in the Geneva Theater, and weddings and funerals were held at St. Stephen’s. After renovations and repairs were completed, Cardinal John McCloskey of the Archdiocese of New York rededicated St. Francis in 1867.
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Worship Sites
St. Francis de Sales Church
130 Exchange St., Geneva
St. Stephen’s Church
48 Pulteney St., Geneva