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our motHer of SorrowS cHurcH
Greece’s Our Mother of Sorrows Church began in 1829 as St. Ambrose Church at Paddy Hill at the corner of Mount Read Boulevard and Latta Road.
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Founded by a small Irish Catholic community, it was dedicated on Feb. 5, 1832, by Father Frances O’Donoghue and was the rst rural Catholic church in New York state. Father Dennis Kelly offered regular Sunday Masses at the church in 1841, and Father Joseph Bioggio was appointed as the parish’s
rst resident pastor in 1849.
During the pastorate of Father John Maurice, the parish, renamed in 1960 as Our Mother of Sorrows, moved down the hill to 5000 Mount Read Blvd. and built its second church in 1859. It was dedicated by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen the following year on the feast of Our Mother of Sorrows.
In 1929 Father Daniel B. O’Rourke became pastor. Bishop John Francis O’Hern celebrated the parish’s centennial on June 8, 1930. Governor and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt were among the distinguished guests for the celebration.
In 1960 the community outgrew its worship space, leading Father O’Rourke to start a fundraising campaign for a new church building. The new church was built and dedicated the following year. Major renovations were done to the worship space, parish buildings and utilities from 2000-2012. In 2004 the parish celebrated its 175th anniversary and its status as the second-oldest parish in the diocese.