More than a year after it hosted its final mass, St. Jude the Apostle parish can be reopened.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Clergy had overturned Bishop Michael Fisher’s decree closing the North Tonawanda church. It’s the latest decision against the Diocese of Buffalo’s plans for closing and merging parishes as part of its Road to Renewal program.
“I’m really excited for us to reopen,” said Parishioner Victoria Vanill, a Buffalo elementary school teacher who led the effort to reopen. She received the correspondence on May 8, though it was dated March 24.
The reasoning for the Dicastery’s decision included that parish funds could not be used toward the diocese’s $150 million sex abuse settlement and that a lack of priests was not a just cause for closure either.
The 800 Niagara Falls Blvd. church officially held its last mass on May 4, 2025, with the Diocese planning to merge it with St. Christopher in Tonawanda. They are both part of the diocese’s Roman Catholic Community of the Tonawandas, whose St. Francis of Assisi parish had also closed.
The Vatican had announced it would look over this case this past summer, suspending the merger for the time being.
Vanill’s appeal was unusual because it was made months after the deadline for appealing a bishop’s decree had passed. Normally, requests for recourse must be filed within 10 days of a decree’s filing, with the bishop having 30 days to respond and parishioners can appeal to the Vatican within 10 days of that response.
This is now the eighth Western New York church that has successfully appealed its closure or merger to the Vatican as part of the Road to Renewal initiative. Eight churches had also successfully appealed against the diocese’s plan of using parish funds for its sex abuse settlement.
Some of St. Jude’s religious items, like its crucifix and Stations of the Cross, had been sold or moved to other Tonawanda family parishes, which would have to be returned if it does reopen. Vanill said that volunteers would be willing to collect the former church items and restore them to their state prior to the closure, which should not take more than a week or two.
“I wish that it could happen as soon as it can,” Vanill said.
Spokesman Gregory Tucker said the Diocese is reviewing these latest decisions and determining their next steps.
A Facebook post from Fr. Michael LaMarca on the Roman Catholic Community of the Tonawandas’ page said that nothing would be done at this time until the bishop has an opportunity to look over the decree and evaluate it. If the bishop appeals, nothing would change, and if the bishop does not appeal, he would consult with the family leadership and parishioners about next steps.
“I hope to know within the next couple of days what the bishop’s intentions are and any guidance from him,” the post reads, noting that LaMarca will be on an extended absence due to a pilgrimage and shoulder surgery. “We will not be making any immediate changes in our family.”