Belfry Repair Project

St. Stanislaus Parish recently announced the latest project to be carried out to keep its beautiful church in good repair. The floor of the belfry – the level of the tower where the bells reside – will be replaced. The floor, made of metal, is over 100 years old and has reached the end of its useful life. 

The project will be complicated and expensive because the bells and their supporting mechanism – weighing over 5,000 pounds – need to be raised to provide access to the floor.  The existing metal floor will be replaced with a long lasting, multiple ply bitumen membrane system. The bells will remain elevated permanently, supported by new steel beams, allowing repairs to be made to the floor in the future as necessary.

 There are three bells in St. Stanislaus’ tower, blessed by Bishop Thomas Hickey and installed in November 1912. Their beautiful, melodious tones have called the faithful to worship for 100 years and remind all who hear their voice that this church is the House of God. 

 The parish needs to raise $100,000 for the belfry floor project and is off to a good start, with over $20,000 in hand. The Board of Directors of the Friends of St. Stanislaus will be discussing our level of support for the project at upcoming meetings. 

Contributions from all friends of the parish are welcome, of course, and may be sent to the rectory: 34 St. Stanislaus Street, Rochester, NY 14621.  You may also make a contribution to the Friends of St. Stanislaus and designate your gift for the belfry project.  Our mailing address is 1325 Hudson Avenue, Rochester, NY 14621.

Bell Tower StStanBellTower3

St. Stanislaus Parish is Honored to Receive a Relic of Blessed Pope John Paul II

 St. Stanislaus Parish is privileged to have been given a relic of Blessed Pope John Paul II to place at the church’s shrine honoring Our Lady of Czestochowa and the Pope who was so devoted to her.  This great gift was designated for the parish by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was Pope John Paul’s personal secretary and is now Archbishop of Krakow.

 The relic consists of a small piece of cloth from of one Pope John Paul’s cassocks, stained with a drop of his blood – making it a first-class relic, one of the highest significance.  The drop of blood was taken from a vial of blood drawn from Pope John Paul in the hospital before his death.  Only a few churches in North America have received first-class relics of the recently beatified John Paul.  St. Stanislaus becomes the first church in the Rochester Diocese to be given this special honor.

The relic will be blessed and installed in the shrine at a special liturgy celebrated by Bishop Matthew Clark on Sunday, May 6th, at 10 AM.