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our lady of victory/St. JoSePH cHurcH
St. Mary’s French Church was established in 1848 on Rochester’s Ely Street as part of the Diocese of Buffalo with Father A. Saunier as its rst pastor.
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The name “The Little French Church” persisted long after the parish was renamed Our Lady of Victory Church and relocated to 210 Pleasant Street after the Rochester Diocese was established in 1868.
Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid’s rst public act as leader of the newly formed diocese was to lay the cornerstone for the new church on July 19, 1868; he dedicated the edi ce in 1873. The rst pastor at the current church was Father Hippolyte DeRegge. A re damaged the church building in 1912 and destroyed valuable decorations from Europe. The interior was rebuilt in 90 days, and the church was later restored in 1961. Rochester residents of all faiths rallied with parishioners in 1968 to save the church from being demolished to make room for a road widening project, and the Rochester Preservation Board designated the building a city landmark in 1970.
The parish became
known as Our Lady
of Victory/St. Joseph
in 1975 when it took in parishioners from nearby St. Joseph Church, which was destroyed by a re.