Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Saturday will be a sad day in South Buffalo, as St. Thomas Aquinas Church on Abbott Road will hold its final Mass. The church is merging with St. Theresa on Seneca Street, per a decree by the Buffalo Catholic Diocese.
"It's a whole lot of mixed emotions," said Fr. Bill Quinlivan in an interview with WBEN. "It's a whole lot of thoughts that I never thought I'd have to deal with as a priest, but it's the reality that we're heading into."
The final Mass will be held Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. EST, followed by a procession to St. Theresa Church.
"We'll do our best to celebrate, rather than put a sad face on it. We're proud of who we are, and we just hope our somebody in the community will respect our building and take it to a new use that will respect the traditions of our of our parish community," Quinlivan added.
Quinlivan says the church was starting a centennial celebration in 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit, and the church never recovered from it.
"As far as people coming and donations, the writing's been on the wall. We just didn't want to look at it. But the there's wonderful people, there's wonderful history of St. Thomas Aquinas, and it's a beautiful church. But the people will carry St. Thomas Aquinas to wherever they go," Quinlivan said.
Quinlivan says the church has been a huge part of his family's life.
"My Irish grandparents were both married from St. Thomas Aquinas. My father grew up at St. Thomas Aquinas, and my aunts and uncles who live right down the street," said Quinlvian, who has been pastor for the last eight years.
For Tom Sullivan, the church has been a huge part of his life as well.
"I was a student in the elementary building. I had my first penance, First Communion and confirmation there, and I was on the parish council, and father Bill asked me a couple years ago to be a trustee," said Sullivan with WBEN.
Sullivan says there was a push for more contributions from parishioners.
"We were financially in some difficulty, and we had a series of meetings with our parishioners to see if we can get them giving a little bit more. And we did not, unfortunately, get the response that we needed," said Sullivan, who notes that raised a red flag with the diocese.
Sullivan says he will have one message on Saturday to keep the spirit alive.
"As long as we keep telling our stories, as long as we keep those memories going St Thomas Aquinas parish community will live on in our lives in some different form," he said.