Ss. Peter and Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, 508 Cherry St. has been ordered by official decree of the Bishop of Buffalo the Rev. Michael W. Fisher to merge with the St. James Parish, 27 Allen St. by Feb. 28. However, a recent posting by the Save Holy Apostles Parish (Ss. Peter & Paul, St. John’s) indicates that Diocese officials have received a formal appeal against the merger and may have granted a reprieve for the embattled congregation. P-J File-photo

The Catholic Church’s Diocese of Buffalo appears to have granted a temporary reprieve for the members of Ss. Peter and Paul Church and its ordered merger with St. James Catholic Church.

The Rev. Michael W. Fisher’s edict to cease operations and merge the churches by Friday has been met with resistance from parishioners of the Holy Apostles Parish, 508 Cherry St. According to Save Holy Apostles Parish, which includes Ss. Peter and Paul Church on Cherry Street, the church leadership has received the congregation’s official appeal of the bishop’s order.

“I just wanted to let you all know that Father Paul emailed me today to let me know that he received an email from the Diocese this morning confirming the Holy Apostles’ recourse and that all mergers/closure procedures are to be on hold,” wrote Sammy Jo Scalise on the group’s Facebook page.

“While I haven’t received a formal response yet, I am now hopeful that one will be coming soon. Assuming that a formal suspension is on the way, this means that the merger will not be moving forward on Feb. 28, 2025. As for the closure of Ss. Peter and Paul, we still have not received a decree of reduction for the church, which means that there still is no set closing date.”

The potential merger of Ss. Peter and Paul, with St. James, is part of a round of expected closures of 79 churches and 39 secondary sites, under a program entitled The Road to Recovery. The Road to Recovery program is a mechanism where church leaders expect to curtail operating expenses and align them more with the current fiscal responsibilities and debit the church has incurred, while taking into account the potential loss of new church members, an aging body of believers, and the potential aging-out of an older, ordained priesthood.

Joe Martone, Buffalo Diocese communications manager, previously stated in a Jan. 11 Post-Journal article that “Our priests are aging out. We have a shortage of priests. The Catholic church, nationwide, is facing the same problem.

Additionally, Catholic church officials are reporting a decline in attendance, an aging body of worshippers, a lack of younger generation parishioners to fill the age gaps, and a decline in the sacrament of marriage as a contributing factor to the decision to shutter churches.

A voicemail to the Diocese of Buffalo requesting comment was not returned by The Post-Journal’s press deadline.