Holy Family Church in Auburn, New York, is facing a possible sale to developers if local Catholics cannot provide a financial plan to the Holy See.
“[We] will not receive an extension or any second chances.”
That’s the urgent message Catholics in western New York are telling the local faithful in their bid to preserve a Civil War-era parish in the small town of Auburn.
The Diocese of Rochester is moving to permanently close and potentially sell Holy Family Church due to structural issues that officials say make it unsafe to use as a parish.
The diocese shut down the church in June 2024, but parishioners of the parish in Auburn — located about 40 minutes outside of Syracuse — are petitioning the Vatican to keep the church an active holy site rather than allow it to be sold off to potential developers.
On its website, Holy Family Organization to Preserve and Endure says the Vatican has requested that the group “demonstrate funding for the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the church.”
The organizers say they are working to raise
