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St. Paul of tHe croSS cHurcH
For nearly 150 years, St. Paul of the Cross has been the spiritual home of Catholics in the southernmost portion of Monroe County.
Following several years of Masses being celebrated in area homes, St. Paul of the Cross was established in 1869 with the opening of its rst church. The parish name was recommended by Father William Gregg, an area priest who belonged to the Passionists, a religious order founded by Paul of the Cross (1694-1775), who was canonized
in 1867.
The original church was dedicated by Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid one year after the Diocese of Rochester was established. Its rst resident pastor, Father Charles Rimmels, arrived in 1875.
In 1890 Father Martin J. Cluney, a native of nearby Lima, was named pastor, a title he would hold for
the next 46 years. Father Cluney strove to build a new church during his tenure, but it wasn’t until 1940 that the current church nally opened at 31 Monroe St.
The new structure was dedicated by Bishop James E. Kearney. Thirty-one years later, on April 24, 1971, Bishop Emeritus Kearney was on hand again – as was Bishop Joseph L. Hogan – when St. Paul of the Cross noted its 100th anniversary in a freshly renovated church.
Since 2010, the Honeoye Falls parish has formed a three-church cluster with two parishes in northern Livingston County – St. Rose in Lima and St. Agnes in Avon.
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