Dome Removal

Buffalo News: Affirming a parish’s eternal values

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After finding students’ long-ago letters to God, Corpus Christi acts in unison to echo message

(Helen Jones – Buffalo News) They were letters to God, written by schoolchildren more than a century ago.

And since being discovered concealed in a cross atop Corpus Christi Catholic Church on Clark Street, they continue to bring members of the East Side parish together — past, present and future.

“This was very surprising for us. It was a very beautiful moment,” the Rev. Mariusz Dymek, administrator of the parish, said Sunday of the recent discovery, which was made when a copper cupola and the cross were removed by a construction crew during restoration work.

So delighted were the parishioners that the decision was made to continue the tradition.

“So we followed this custom and asked our parishioners to add new letters to the old ones and put them back,” Dymek said.

The response from parishioners was overwhelming. Asked how many members were participating in the letter-writing campaign, which continued Sunday after all Masses, Dymek said, “Almost everyone.”

Read full story in the Buffalo News—>

Corpus Christi Parishioners to Fill the Church Tower With Messages of Faith and Thanksgiving

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Corpus Christi Church, located at the “Superman Corner” of Clark and Kent Streets on the East Side of Buffalo, was dedicated in 1909. The congregation has long maintained that during construction, the copper crosses atop the domes of the church towers were filled with hundreds of letters written by the parish’s school children. However, lacking any documentation, these messages became the stuff of urban legend. More than 100 years later, those long-ago letters have been found.

Since 2005, a multi-phased, multi-million dollar initiative has been underway to restore Corpus Christi to its full splendor. The current focus of this comprehensive project is the restoration of the iconic south tower. As work on the tower crosses began, those hopeful messages were discovered, along with small holy medals and other religious items. Unfortunately, time and exposure to the elements had destroyed this historic treasure trove, leaving behind just soggy clumps of paper and bits of corroded metal. Still, the discovery has captured the imagination of both the contractor and the congregation, and has inspired an invitation to current and former parishioners to record their own messages of faith and thanksgiving for their beloved church.

The parish has weathered many challenges during the last century. The congregation’s letters are sure to reflect the sobering facts of how close they came to losing their church, their gratitude to the Pauline Order for assuming leadership of the parish in 2004, a record of the challenges they have encountered in revitalizing this sacred place and fervent prayers for the future of this landmark church. This time around, the letters will be encased in a fashion that will safeguard them for generations to come.

The letter-writing endeavor will take place on Sunday, November 6th after all the Masses. Light refreshments will be provided. All current and former parishioners are invited to attend Mass and take part in this historic project.

Images of the recently discovered documents can be viewed on by clicking here—>

Photos: South Tower Dome Removal

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