In 1848, the bishop of Buffalo-Rochester, N.Y., seeing the need for a church to serve a small congregation of French-Canadian parishioners who had settled not far from the banks of Lake Ontario, established the modest but practical St. Mary’s French Catholic Church.

A decade and a half later, the first ordinary of the new diocese of Rochester, Bishop Bernard McQuaid, laid the cornerstone for a new church of grand Baroque design yet modest dimensions. It was to be named Notre Dame des Victoires (Our Lady of Victory) after Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Fast-forward to October of 1974. The nearby Redemptorist church of St. Joseph is destroyed by fire. The two parishes merge and the Redemportists take custodianship of both. The new entity is named Our Lady of Victory/St. Joseph Church.

Thanks to that inspired naming decision, to this day the church is the perfect place for the Catholics of western New York to invoke the intercession of the head of the Holy Family on March 20, solemnity of St. Joseph (and, this year, the first day of spring).

If you do so, know that you’ll be following in the footsteps of St. John Neumann, who served at St. Joseph Church prior to becoming bishop of Philadelphia. When Redemptorist Father Neumann was stationed at the former St. Joseph, he said Mass, preached in German, heard confessions and did a lot of other spiritual work in the area. His local travels probably brought him to Our Lady of Victory fairly regularly. 

Currently, a study is being made of the baptismal records of the former St. Joseph Church with the hope of finding St. John’s signature.

Since 1996, Our Lady of Victory/St. Joseph Church has been operated by diocesan priests. It has always been considered a downtown parish, and is close to the Eastman Theatre, a new sports arena and some upscale apartments. On weekdays, many of the attendees at daily Mass are professional people who work in downtown Rochester.

Many downtown workers also simply stop to make a visit — the church opens at 9:30 a.m. to accommodate visitors — and to enjoy a few moments of peace before returning to hustle of city life. On the weekends, Mass draws Catholics who enjoy celebrating the liturgy in a historic, picturesque and small church. (It seats only around 220 people.)

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Our Lady of Victory/St. Joseph Church is located on Pleasant Street, which was named when Rochester was a tiny community. At the time, fruit trees of various kinds proliferated in these parts. The nurseries of Rochester contributed significantly to the horticultural development of the Great Lakes region.

Rochester was originally named Flour City because of the presence of flour mills, then Flower City after its flower nurseries. Even today, each spring a lilac festival draws 100,000 visitors to Rochester.

From the church in the early days, parishioners had a clear view to the Genesee River, which flows through downtown Rochester.

As you enter the church, one of the first sights to command your attention is a statue of Our Lady of Victory, holding the Child Jesus, over the main altar. Both figures are crowned.

The reredos, I learned on my most recent visit, was made by craftsmen from Belgium. The wooden altar is the original, as are the touches throughout of 23-carat gold leaf. The brass candlesticks on the main altar have recently been restored.

The rear wall of the sanctuary, behind the main altar, has been painted sky blue. I learned that the paint covers several works of sacred art that, it is hoped, can one day be restored.

Above the main altar is a ceiling window. Originally a sanctuary lamp hung from it down to the level of the tabernacle on a chain. There are plans to restore these items as well.

On the left side altar is an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. This was placed by the Redemptorists when they were first assigned to the parish. Incredibly, when the church of St. Joseph Church burned to the ground, this icon was the only item that survived the flames. On April 4, 1975, a procession of clergy and parishioners brought the retouched painting to Our Lady of Victory/St. Joseph Church.

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The stained-glass windows in the church are of great value because of their age. The window to the far right of the altar has the coat of arms of Bishop McQuaid, the first bishop of Rochester. The stained-glass window opposite is of Pope Pius IX: The church was founded during his pontificate.

The Stations of the Cross picture characters in medieval costuming except for Our Lord himself. The stations, which imitate some of the early Renaissance Belgian paintings, are oil on panel. Also imported from Belgium, they replaced the original stations that were destroyed in a 1912 fire.

The fire also destroyed the original pews, which were black walnut. Both the stations and the chandelier lights were manufactured by the famous stained-glass firm of Pike. The church organ dates to the early 1900s.

The confessionals are located in the rear of the church, under the choir loft. Confessions are very popular at Our Lady of Victory/St. Joseph Church. In fact, an average of 200 confessions are heard weekly; penitents drive here from as far away as Ontario. Naturally, the lines are even longer during Lent.

Facing the altar from the main entrance, the visitor is flanked by statues of St. Therese of Lisieux on the left and the Infant of Prague on the right. Also near the entranceway are plaques to two former pastors of happy memory.

Thanks to its historic value, Our Lady of Victory/St. Joseph Church has been officially designated a landmark site by the Federal Landmark Society.

That’s notable, to be sure, but I was more impressed by an inscription on the terrazzo floor: “This is none other than the house of God and the gate of Heaven.”

Not that I needed the words to tell me that — I could see it with my own two eyes just by looking around and praying before Christ really present in the tabernacle.

And what did I pray? “St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church, pray for us. Mary, Our Lady of Victory, pray for us. Jesus, our Lord, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Joseph Albino writes from

Syracuse, New York.

Planning Your Visit

Three novenas are held each week before the 12:10 p.m. Daily Mass: St. Anthony Novena on Tuesday, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena on Wednesday, and St. Jude Novena on Friday. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction takes place on the First Saturday of each month from 10:20-11:20 a.m. For a Mass schedule and other information, call (585) 454-2244 or e-mail [email protected].

Getting There

Take Exit 45 off Interstate 90 (the New York State Thruway). Take U.S. Route 490 west toward  Rochester. Take the Clinton Avenue Exit, then turn left onto Pleasant Street. The church is located at 210 Pleasant St.