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St. lawrence cHurcH
One of the rst worship spaces for parishioners of Greece’s St. Lawrence Church was in the basement of Ridgecrest Shopping Center, known to parishioners as the “catacombs.”
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The parish moved at the shopping center a week after celebrating its rst Mass on Aug. 30, 1959, in the Greece Town Hall, which had been too small to accommodate the congregation of
750 worshippers.
In October 1959, ground was broken for St. Lawrence’s rst church structure, designed for the most part by the parish’s rst pastor, Father Edward A. Shamon. Though the parish launched a fund drive, much of the construction labor was carried out by 200 volunteers. The rst Mass in the church was celebrated on Oct. 30, 1960.
Father John Murphy became pastor in 1962 and oversaw the completion of the parish hall and the establishment of St. Lawrence School, which continues to serve preschool through sixth grade.
Father Frank Falletta became pastor in 1984. He initiated a $1.5 million campaign for a new church and parish center. The parish center – which was essentially a gymnasium – was completed in January 1988, and the new church at 1000 North Greece Road was dedicated by Bishop Matthew H. Clark in December 1989.
In 2003, the parish embarked on another capital campaign to add a parish center attached to the church. Named Deacon Hall in honor of St. Lawrence, who was an ordained deacon, the new facility was completed in January 2006.