Page 249 - ROCHESTER

St. monica cHurcH
St. Monica Church was founded in 1898 to serve
the growing neighborhoods surrounding downtown Rochester.
Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid assigned Msgr. John P. Brophy to serve as the rst pastor for the original two-story building facing Genesee Street, which the bishop dedicated on New Year’s
Day 1899.
The parish included many poor residents. Father Brophy celebrated the parish’s rst Mass on the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, 1898, and stayed on as pastor until his death in 1939.
The cornerstone for the current church building at 34 Monica St. was laid in the fall 1914, and the church opened in January 1915. A $1 million renovation project of that building began in 2009 and took about seven months to complete. It included the addition of a gathering space, asbestos removal, audio-visual improvements and creation of better accessibility for people with disabilities.
The campus also is home to Monica Place, which provides affordable apartments for the community. The 2009 newly renovated church serves as the home for a new parish community born out of four other city churches and the canonical parish of Emmanuel Church of the Deaf.
247