A night view of the steeple of the Ss. Peter and Paul’s Church, 512 Cherry St. Ss. Peter and Paul’s is one of more than 79 churches and an additional 39 secondary worship sites in the Southern Tier that the Diocese of Buffalo plans to shutter or combine with other sites. The group Save Holy Apostles Parish group (Ss Peter, Paul, and St. John’s.) is scheduled to meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Celeron Community Center, 47 Dunham Ave., to discuss the current appeals process. Submitted photo

Members of Holy Apostles Parish will meet tonight at the Celoron Community Center for an update on efforts to keep Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church from closing.

Since the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo announced plans on Sept. 10, 2024, plans to shutter and merge more than 79 churches and an additional 39 secondary worship sites across the Southern Tier, most parishioners in the designated congregations have resigned themselves to the inevitable.

Ss. Peter and Paul members are not among them.

Leaders of the Save Holy Apostles Parish group will use tonight’s meeting as an opportunity to discuss with those who want to keep the church from closing what has been done and what will need to be done in the future. The Celoron Community Center is located at 47 Dunham Ave., Celoron. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

“So far we haven’t received a decree from the bishop,” said John Campion of the Save Holy Apostles Parish group. “We told the Diocese of Buffalo that we would not pick a date for closure – that they would have to tell us when to close. We’re the only ones, I believe, who haven’t been assigned or picked a closing date. We told the diocese you pick it. …You tell us when we’re going to close, we won’t do it.”

According to Campion, the meeting will feature a presentation from our group’s procurator, Samantha Scalise. Her presentation is set to include information on the timeline of events and the appeal efforts so far, a summary of the relevant Canon Law and the group’s consultation with Save Our Buffalo Churches and the St. Joseph Canon Law Foundation, along with discussion of future steps, and ways that parishioners and concerned community members can get involved and assist with the appeal effort. The meeting is planned to end with a brief question and answer session.

The official Save Holy Apostles Parish ( Saints Peter, Paul, and St. John’s) Facebook group was created on Sept. 18, 2024, to help facilitate and draw attention to the congregation’s attempt to save its’ beloved, old, gothic-style, Roman Catholic Church, located at 512 Cherry St. This grass roots movement is gaining steam across Chautauqua County and what started out as an in-person, impromptu meeting has grown over time. Currently, there are 455 members on the group’s Facebook page, and it is growing.

The Senior Communications Specialist for the Diocese of Buffalo, Michael Mroziak, said in a Post-Journal story, dated Oct. 24, 2024, that each church had until Nov. 1, 2024, to submit a timeline for closing their individual parish, or the diocese may be forced to pick a date.

For more information visit Save Holy Apostles Parish! ( Saints Peter & Paul, St. John’s) Facebook page.