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St. JoHn vianney PariSH
With histories reaching back to the mid-1800s,
St. Gabriel Church in Hammondsport and St. Mary in Bath have operated as a single parish since 2012 when they were combined to form St. John Vianney.
St. Gabriel was founded in 1848 in a former Presbyterian church, and dedicated by Buffalo Bishop John Timon. It was served by visiting priests until 1880, Father when John Mullen became the rst resident pastor. In 1884 Buffalo Bishop Stephen V. Ryan laid the cornerstone for a new church, which opened the following year. It burned down in 1908, but another structure went up the next year and was blessed by Rochester Bishop Thomas F. Hickey. It continues to serve Catholics of Hammondsport, along with summer visitors to
nearby Keuka Lake.
Eight miles to St. Gabriel’s south, St. Mary got its start in 1850 as a mission parish with the opening of its rst church. Ten years later, Father Michael Steger became St. Mary’s rst resident priest. A new church was dedicated in 1892 by Bishop Ryan of Buffalo, and that same structure continues today as a place of worship for Catholics in the heart of Steuben County.
In 1896 St. Mary and St. Gabriel became part of the Diocese of Rochester, after having previously belonged to the Buffalo Diocese.
The two Steuben County churches were clustered in 2010. Two years later they became a single parish whose name honors the French saint (1786-1859) who was canonized in 1925.
St. Mary
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Worship Sites
St. Gabriel Church
78 Shethar St., Hammondsport
St. Mary Church
32 E. Morris St., Bath