Blessed Sacrament Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Buffalo, New York, United States. Constructed in the late 19th century, it remains the home of an active congregation and has been recognized as a historically significant building in the Linwood Historic District of Buffalo.
Early history Blessed Sacrament Church boasts a unique and storied history that began in the spring of 1887 with workers constructing the first foundation of this Gothic style building at 1025 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York.Buffalo Evening News, "Bishop Ryan's New Chapel: The Cornerstone Laid Yesterday Afternoon with Impressive Ceremonies in the Presence of Several Thousand People," October 3, 1887. The original structure was designed by architect Adolphus Druiding, of Chicago, Illinois. It was erected immediately southeast of Bishop Stephen V. Ryan's new residence on the same parcel, also designed by Druiding. The two buildings were erected at a cost of $75,000 (USD), .Sunday Truth, “Chancel (sic) of Ease: Bishop Ryan’s New Chapel and Residence—Imposing Ceremonies Next Sunday,” September 25, 1887.
Though commonly referred to as the "Bishop's Chapel," the primary intent of this new worship space was to serve as a “‘chapel of ease’… for the convenience of Catholic worshipers in the vicinity” of Buffalo’s Cold Springs neighborhood, who otherwise had to travel several miles to attend Mass at other Catholic churches in the city.The Buffalo Evening News, "The Bishop’s New Home: Bishop Ryan to Have an Elegant Residence on Delaware Avenue," June 26, 1886.
On October 2, 1887, the cornerstone of what was to be called the "Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament," was laid in a grand ceremony attended by several thousand Catholics. Accompanied by Bishop Ryan, the group marched more than two miles from St. Joseph’s Cathedral at 50 Franklin Street to the Chapel site at 1025 Delaware Avenue. There, Bishop Ryan made remarks and announced that Rev. James F. McGloin would serve as the Chapel’s first Rector upon its opening—a position Rev. McGloin would hold for 30 years.The Buffalo Evening News, "A Half Century in the Catholic Priesthood," November 7, 1936.
When Blessed Sacrament Chapel opened on May 26, 1889, it had a seating capacity of 288, which was sufficient to cover the roughly 50 families in residence over a territory of two square miles from North Street to the Park and from Richmond to Michigan Avenues.McGloin, James F., "History of the New Cathedral Parish," 1918. Among the distinguished visitors who said Mass in the Chapel was Cardinal Francesco Satolli, the first Apostolic delegate to the United States; Cardinal John Murphy Farley, Archbishop of New York; Cardinal Michael Logue, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland; Cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli, Dean of the College of Cardinals; Apostolic Delegates; and a host of Catholic bishops from around the world.
One of Blessed Sacrament Chapel’s most prominent early members was businessman Frederick C.M. Lautz. Lautz was regarded as one of Buffalo's wealthiest residents and is credited with starting the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, the precursor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra."Building Budget: Building in Buffalo," Stone: An Illustrated Magazine, Volume VI, The D.H. Ranck Publishing Company, 1893, p. 587. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Pan-American Exposition, which took place in Buffalo in 1901, chairing the Exposition’s music committee. Lautz was a renowned baritone vocalist who sang during services at Blessed Sacrament Chapel for nearly 15 years. In this capacity, he sang both solo and as part of a quartet along with "Miss Annie Lee, Miss Louise Masses, [and] Mrs. William Brennan."
In 1906, Rev. McGloin installed in Blessed Sacrament Chapel an altar consecrated in 590 A.D. by Pope Gregory I.The Catholic Advance, "Church has Altar Consecrated in 590 by Gregory the Great," October 8, 1932. McGloin acquired the altar from the small church of San Salvatore in Thermis in Rome when that church and its adjoining complex were demolished in the early 20th Century. It was placed in the north transept of the Chapel, where it remained for 70 years. A tablet on the wall adjacent to the altar read:
This altar is from San Salvatore in Thermis, an ancient church of Rome, consecrated by Pope Gregory the Great about 590 A.D. It contains the box of relics of which St. Gregory placed in the altar when he consecrated the church. In 1906, the altar was obtained from the ecclesiastical authorities at Rome for the Blessed Sacrament Church, Buffalo, by Rev. James F. McGloin, rector.
Another tablet adjacent to the altar listed the names of "35 women of the parish who defrayed the cost of transporting the altar from Rome and installing it in the chapel."
In 1907 and 1908, the Diocese of Buffalo worked with renowned ecclesiastic architect Albert A. Post on an enlargement of Blessed Sacrament Chapel, accompanied by extensive interior alterations and improvements (Druiding was unavailable to support this effort, as he died in 1899). Buffalo Morning Express, "Chapel will be Bigger," November 10, 1907. Two doors were added to the front elevation, one under each of the two front-facing stained glass windows that flank the center rose window.Catholic Union and Times, "Church of Blessed Sacrament: The 'Bishop’s Chapel' Greatly Enlarged, Opened and Dedicated—Bishop Colton's Sermon—a Street Car Incident and a Query," April 9, 1908. The edifice was split in two and the apse and sacristy were moved back 45 feet, with the intervening space filled in with a transept, giving the Chapel its distinct cruciform shape in keeping with the building’s Gothic style of architecture. A copper cupola was also incorporated at the intersection of the nave and transept, topped with a Latin cross. The north and south transept walls each feature a large rose window of similar size to the rose window on the front elevation of the building facing Delaware Avenue. Reportedly, the original rose window at the front of the Chapel was relocated during this renovation to one of the transept walls.If this report is true, a remarkable level of craftsmanship went into replicating the colors and design of the original rose window, as even a close side-by-side examination of photographs of the two windows reveal minimal variations. It is believed that the south transept rose window is likely the original, as it bears an image of Jesus in the center, which is more closely linked to the Church’s name (“Blessed Sacrament”) than Mary, Jesus’s mother, who is depicted in the opposite window.
Interior improvements during this renovation included the installation of "marble mosaic" terrazzo aisleways and a carpeted altar, which was funded by the Blessed Sacrament "Altar Society, which consists of the women of the parish." According to one report at the time, "So skillfully was the work of moving back the sanctuary and sacristy effected that the mural decorations of the former were unharmed. This color scheme of the sanctuary—rich tones in redish (sic) browns with gold and silver leaf—will be carried out in the decoration of the nave and transept."
On April 4, 1908, Blessed Sacrament Chapel was dedicated anew by then-Bishop Charles H. Colton and officially earned the designation of "church," and thus, Rev. McGloin's title changed from rector to pastor, and he was now formally responsible for Blessed Sacrament Parish. This re-dedication service was very widely attended by Blessed Sacrament's regular parishioners, who filled out the new 600-seat capacity of the sanctuary, along with a number of guests, including Monsignor Nelson H. Baker who is well known in Buffalo for his works of charity.
In 1911, Bishop Colton directed the construction of a new, grand Gothic style cathedral designed by Roman architect Aristide Leonori at the northeast corner of Delaware Avenue and West Utica Street in Buffalo, New York.Diocese of Buffalo, "Official Souvenir: Commemorative of Installation of the Fifth Bishop of Buffalo, Rt. Rev. Dennis J. Dougherty, D.D.," Buffalo Catholic Publication Company, June 7, 1916. Plans for the cathedral encompassed the land atop which Blessed Sacrament Church and the Bishop’s residence stood. With its established and devoted congregation, razing Blessed Sacrament Church to make way for the new cathedral was not an option, and so the Bishop directed that the entire structure and his residence be relocated to new foundations on the adjacent parcel at 1035 Delaware Avenue, which the Diocese had acquired two years prior. Buffalo Morning Express, "Preliminary Work on New Cathedral Starts Today," January 24, 1911. The church and residence were moved to the northeast 300 feet and 200 feet, respectively, by the Gus Britt Company of Buffalo.
Also in 1911, Mosier & Summers, a Buffalo-based construction firm, began constructing the "New St. Joseph's Cathedral" at the northeast corner of West Utica Street and Delaware Avenue.Buffalo Morning Express, "New Cathedral Begun," October 16, 1911. The New St. Joseph’s Cathedral’s cornerstone was laid on June 9, 1912 by Archdiocese of New York Cardinal John M. Farley. Today, this cornerstone is on display outdoors, on the south side of the Sacristy building. Part of this effort included the erection of a utilitarian single-story boiler building immediately south of Blessed Sacrament Church.Trautman Associates, "Facilities Strategic Plan: Blessed Sacrament Parish," January 2004. The ground floor of this building served as the sacristy for the Cathedral, while its cavernous basement housed the Cathedral's boilers.Flynn Battaglia Architects, "Blessed Sacrament R.C. Church, Facilities Condition Report," April 2021. The building was connected to both Blessed Sacrament Church and the New St. Joseph’s Cathedral via building hyphens. A boiler smokestack was also built to the northeast of the boiler building, tucked in the corner adjacent to Blessed Sacrament Church’s apse and south transept.
The new Cathedral opened in 1915, at which time Blessed Sacrament Parish became "New Cathedral Parish," and Blessed Sacrament Church again became a chapel.
In 1921, the Diocese of Buffalo purchased the former Mansion of Seymour H. Knox I at 1045 Delaware Avenue to serve as the residence of then-Bishop William Turner and changed its address to 1035 Delaware Avenue, such that the Bishop's residence retained the same house number.The Buffalo Evening News, "S.H. Knox Home Bought for Bishop's Residence," June 6, 1921. The Bishop’s previous residence, immediately south, was subsequently demolished, explaining why Blessed Sacrament is set back farther than any other primary building along Delaware Avenue in Buffalo.
In 1976, then-Bishop Edward D. Head ordered the demolition of the New St. Joseph’s Cathedral, on the basis that the building allegedly suffered from irreparable structural defects, to make way for the Brutalist style Timon Towers apartment complex, leaving only the boiler building and associated smokestack in place. At this time, New Cathedral Parish reverted to its origins as Blessed Sacrament Parish, and the 1887 Gothic style building was once again designated a "Church." Presumably to help reduce demolition costs, the Diocese of Buffalo “gifted” the decommissioned boiler building and associated smokestack to Blessed Sacrament Church. The Church uses the ground floor of the building as its sacristy, which offers a much larger footprint than the original Druiding-designed sacristy room, located off of the Church’s apse.