St. Raphael Religious Education and Youth Group

Niagara Gazette March 11, 2008 - City's newest parish By Don Glynn

The new church formed by the merger of Sacred Heart and St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus parishes will be named St. Raphael.

Bishop Edward U. Kimec of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese announced the name change was based on the recommendation of the transition team that included members from both of the former parishes.

“St. Raphael was the name of the original parish founded at the Sacred Heart site and both Sacred Heart and St. Teresa parishes developed from that foundation,” the bishop said. “As the saint of healing and the patron of travelers, St. Raphael is a most appropriate name for this time in our church and in the particular location of Niagara Falls.”

In the Catholic faith, St. Raphael is known as one of the seven archangels standing before the throne of the Lord. He also is honored as the patron of the blind and of nurses and doctors. His feast day is celebrated on Sept. 29.

A diocesan spokesman said that the Rev. Ivan Skenderovic, the new pastor of the merged parish, will celebrate an opening Mass at 4 p.m. April 19 at the present site of St. Teresa, 3840 Macklem Ave. Among the new pastor’s previous assignments was St. Anthony’s in Batavia.

St. Teresa’s, established in 1930, most recently had 702 families, according to the 2008 Catholic Directory.

Sacred Heart at South Avenue and 11th Street, founded in 1854, had 617 families registered.