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St. tHeodore’S cHurcH
St. Theodore’s Church opened its doors in the early 1920s
to serve the growing community of Gates in western Monroe County.
Father John Baier was the founding pastor in 1924, when the church was dedicated.
The rst Masses were celebrated in the home of a parishioner until 1925 when the original church was built. Bishop Thomas Hickey laid the cornerstone in July 1925.
Father Raymond Epping later served as pastor for more than two decades beginning in 1937.
Bishop James E. Kearney dedicated and blessed the current church building at 168 Spencerport Road on Nov. 9, 1957, which was the feast of St. Theodore. St. Theodore’s was among the rst in the diocese to organize a parish council in 1971. Two years later, a housing facility for senior citizens was built on land donated by the parish and named Dunn Tower Apartments after another longtime pastor, Father Gerald Dunn.
A library also was named after Father Dunn in 1994 after the parish renovated space in its former school to create staff of ces, a receptionist area and a meeting room. The parish rectory was also redesigned at that time to provide living space for additional priests.
To mark St. Theodore’s 75th anniversary, parish of cials undertook a renovation project of the building’s interior. The project began in 1996 and was completed more than two years later. Subsequently, Auxiliary Bishop Dennis W. Hickey – who had served as pastor from 1961-68 – rededicated the church in 1999.
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