News
)Roof damage caused by 12/28/08 wind storm
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Buffalo, New York – At 8:14a.m. on Sunday, December 28th, parishioners at Corpus Christi were waiting for Mass to begin. Without warning, the church chandeliers began to sway and the organ pipes in the choir loft started to rattle, immediately followed by a deafening sound unlike anything the congregation had ever heard. Panicked worshipers feared a tornado or an earthquake. As it turned out, the din was the sound of hundreds of slate tiles being torn from the church roof in wind gusts that topped 75 mph. The ordeal lasted less than a minute. Miraculously no one was injured. The aftermath, however, leaves the congregation facing a serious challenge in these tough economic times. Elsewhere, the wind toppled trees, snapped power lines and left thousands across Western New York without power.
The area immediately surrounding the church has since been cleared of all debris. Emergency waterproofing of the roof is being completed by Weaver Roofing Company. However, this is only a temporary solution to cover the damaged sections of the roof. This interim measure will insure that the church interior is protected until work on a complete new roof can hopefully begin this spring.
Even before the storm damage, the parish had identified replacement of the 100-year-old slate roof as its top priority. A generous $450,000 grant from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund was announced last fall, following the church’s designation as a New York State Landmark and its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the State award requires a dollar-for-dollar match before its funding is released. That means the parish must raise an additional $450,000 for the project to proceed.
To date, the parish has raised more than $200,000 toward that goal. More help is needed to secure the necessary funds for the roof project. [Read more…]
Young North Tonawandan peforms at historic church
(The Tonawanda News) Attend Mass at Corpus Christi church in the heart of Buffalo and you’re bound to be 
moved by the place, its architecture and its acoustics.
During Sunday’s 11:30 Mass, one of North Tonawanda’s most talented young musicians took the helm of one of the finest all-around pipe organs in the region to make sure the music was as close to heavenly as possible.
Daniel Pisarcik, 14, commanded the church’s massive three keyboard, 32-pipe-set instrument for worshippers in the same house where it was built about 70 years ago, by Polish maker A. Radziewicz of New Jersey.
It is said workers at the time assembled the pieces in a building next door, eventually completing the installation of all 2,014 individual pipes (ranging in size from a half inch to 20 feet) in two separate chestnut wood housings on the church’s upper balcony.
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