A community of believers. A place of worship. A growing campus. 

A few poor families gather in someone’s home to pray. They invite a priest to say Mass. A mission is established. A small church built. The mission becomes a parish. Growth continues, always with Eucharist at the heart of who we are and what we believe. Now, on any given weekend, the hundreds of families who call St. Louis parish their spiritual home choose from a full weekend schedule of Masses, participate in one of several models of religious education and faith formation offered, and give back in service through one of the many ministries that flow out of living our call to be disciples of Jesus.

We share our story in this parish history to remember where we have come from and to honor the debt we owe to the men and women who have gone before us. We are the grateful recipients of their faith and their generosity.  We invite you to become part of the living history of our parish!

The Early Years
The first mention of building a Catholic church in Pittsford comes from an 1874 financial report in the Diocese of Rochester archives. Father Patrick C. McGrath of Fairport, who served the small mission church of St. Louis, wrote, “The prospect of building a Church there (in Pittsford) ... is not very encouraging, as the people are few - and very poor.” However, he noted with some optimism that, “the few that come to Mass are very good people and are anxious to see a church in Pittsford.”


Rev. Patrick C. McGrath, the pastor of Assumption Church in Fairport, served St. Louis Mission from 1870 to 1878.

It would be ten years after Father McGrath’s report before St. Louis would have its own church building, and nearly three decades after that before it would be elevated to full parish status. To understand the reasons behind our humble beginnings, consider the village that Father McGrath surveyed in 1874 and the immigrant origins of the local Catholic population.

Pittsford Village
A Pittsford town historian writing in the Brighton-Pittsford Post, has described the earliest years of the village as influenced heavily by its geographic location. The area sits “on a limestone dome ... one of the notable topographical features of eastern Monroe county. A spring fed by an underground stream running through the limestone was a well-known meeting place in Indian days and attracted the first white men known to have visited here. This was the army of the Marquis Denonville, who bivouacked at the ‘Big Spring’ during the famed expedition against the Seneca Indians in 1689 at the commission of King Louis XIV of France.” In the early 1790’s, settlers planted the area’s first apple orchards. Many of these settlers became successful farmers, but a number of them, settling in what is now the village of Pittsford, were capitalists, speculators, or tradesmen. With economic growth came other benefits. As recounted in “Northfield on the Genesee” by Margaret Schmitt MacNab, the first library in Monroe County opened in the home of local resident, Ezra Patterson, in 1803. The town also claimed the first physician of Monroe County, Dr. John Ray. By 1811, a post office was established at Samuel Felt’s tavern where the mail arrived by horseback from Canandaigua. Mr. Gershum Dunham held the contract for the trip and when he was ill, his wife, Cynthia, substituted for him. In transportation, the village enjoyed the benefits of being a stop on the stagecoach route between Canandaigua and Irondequoit Landing. Throughout the early years, the area was known by various names: Stonetown, Northfield, Boyle and Smallwood. In 1814, Smallwood was divided into two parts: Brighton and Pittsford. Col. Caleb Hopkins, a leading citizen who had been town supervisor and a hero of the War of 1812, chose the name Pittsford after his hometown of Pittsford, Vermont. With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, the small village became a busy shipping port. At the same time, the canal brought a heavy migration of settlers from New England. The coming of the Auburn and Rochester railroad in 1842 further propelled the growth of Pittsford, and by the mid-1800’s, the village was well established as a center of commerce and transportation via both canal and railroad.

An Immigrant Church
It is against this backdrop of a small boomtown that the story of our parish begins. However, for the most part, the early parishioners of St. Louis did not participate in the area’s prosperity. Many were Irish immigrants who had come to the area to dig the canal. Later, others followed to work on the railroads. The Irish did not bring material wealth of their own to Pittsford, but they did bring their Catholic faith. In Father Robert F. McNamara’s excellent history of the Diocese of Rochester, he acknowledges the role played by the Erie Canal and the railroad. “Catholicism in the twelve counties owes a great deal to these man-made rivers and iron highways. They not only gave Catholics, as immigrants, easier access; they also provided them with temporary or permanent jobs at construction and maintenance.” McNamara’s description of the settlement patterns that occurred throughout the diocese seem particularly apt for Pittsford in the mid-1800s. “Irish laborers were often attracted by one of the villages through which their work took them, and subsequently settled there with their families, which they usually brought over as soon as they earned passage money for them. Some immigrants continued for many years in the employ of the canals or railways; others branched out into different employments; still others became tenant farmers, and eventually bought improved farms for themselves. The women-folk of the Irish families were meanwhile in great demand for domestic service and their earnings contributed much to the support of the large families.” The Irish Famine of the 1840’s and the mass emigrations it caused swelled the local Irish population further. Leaving their homeland for economic and political reasons, the Irish began their lives here at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. Even after the Civil War, most of the Irish in America were still working as unskilled laborers and struggling to survive. The story of the Irish immigrants explains why, in spite of the relative prosperity of 19th century Pittsford, challenge and financial struggle marked the early years of St. Louis.

Home Masses
Before Catholic services were available in Pittsford, the faithful traveled to Rochesterville or Fairport, taking the handcar on the Auburn Railroad. The earliest forms of worship in Pittsford, as elsewhere, began with small groups of people gathering at a neighbor’s home to pray. As their numbers grew, they would eventually invite a priest to the house to say Mass. In 1856 a small group invited Father Louis Miller to celebrate Mass in the home of Mr. James Cleary on Locust Street in Pittsford. (A conflicting account states the first Mass in Pittsford was said by Father William Casey of Palmyra in 1864 at the Exchange Hotel.) Father Miller continued to serve the needs of the faithful until 1871 when the size of the congregation outgrew the Cleary home.


In 1871 St. Louis rented space for Sunday Mass on the second floor of the Tousey Market This 1928 photo shows the building’s location on corner the of South Main and Church Streets - site of the current Saha Mediterranean Grill  Photo courtesy of Peg Tousey Edwards

A New Diocese and a New Mission Church
The Catholic community in Pittsford was not alone in its vigorous growth. In 1868, the Diocese of Rochester (formerly a part of the Diocese of Buffalo) was inaugurated under the leadership of Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid. In that same year, St. Louis was established as a mission of Assumption Church in Fairport. In 1871, a hall was rented for use by the Pittsford mission church - an upper room over the Tousey Market, which stood on the northeast corner of South Main and Church Streets. Masses were celebrated by Father Patrick C. McGrath, pastor of Assumption Church. It was Father McGrath’s report to the diocese that cast doubt on the prospects for St. Louis building a church of its own. Diocesan archives contain a January 1872 statistical summary of a year in the early life of the St. Louis mission church. It notes 46 people registered in catechism class, 3 Baptisms, 0 First Communions, 0 Confirmations and 2 Marriages and 0 Burials.

The State Street Church
Father John L. Codyre took charge of the St. Louis Mission when he became pastor of Assumption Church in 1879. In that same year, a Mr. John Casgrove purchased a small house at 17 State Street in the village to serve as a more permanent home for St. Louis. When it was decided to build a new and more commodious church on the same site, the small building was moved across the street. Services were held there while the new church was under construction. The new State Street church would be a frame structure measuring 60 x 37 feet with seating for 200 people. The spire measured about 12 feet across at the base and 30 feet high. A Mr. Finucane was selected as the builder; he built a church of similar design in Churchville, New York.


St. Louis Church on the south side of State Street in the village served the parish from 1884 to 1966. The building was demolished by a subsequent owner in 1968.

October 6, 1884 was a proud day for St. Louis when Bishop McQuaid and Father Codyre dedicated the cornerstone for the new church. That cornerstone can today be seen on our parish grounds near the playground. The first wedding in the new church celebrated the marriage of John Sullivan and Margaret Brady.


The interior of St. Louis Church on State Street, with communion rail and large statues

A Mr. James Styles was the first to be buried from the new church. The St. Louis Church on State Street served as a resource for its members in many ways beyond those of a spiritual nature. Along with the local Grange, it provided a place for recreation and support for social activities.


Rev. John L. Codyre, the second pastor from Fairport to serve St. Louis, supervised the construction of the church on State Street.

Father Codyre would continue his travels from Fairport to say Mass at St. Louis for the next 26 years until February 1911, when, at last, St. Louis attained full parish status.

On July 1, 1911, Bishop McQuaid appointed Father Louis Edelman the first pastor of the new parish - St. Louis Catholic Church of Pittsford. As noted in a publication celebrating Father Edelman’s 50th Jubilee, he was also asked to serve the mission church of St. Catherine’s in Mendon. In those days before the automobile, traveling between his two remote assignments was difficult and time consuming. 
 

Rev. Louis W. Edelman Pastor 1911 to 1953.

The small, still mostly Irish community of St. Louis warmly welcomed Father Edelman. As an earlier history of St. Louis recounts, “some of the ‘old-timers’ the Cullens, the Sullivans, the Zornows remember the first day the young priest came to Pittsford. So will Father Edelman. ‘Father, you’ll starve out there’ were the parting words of Bishop Thomas Hickey. And with one Sunday collection of $3.41 at the time, it’s hard to understand why he didn’t. No rectory, no treasury, and a congregation of 35 or 40 Irish families.” 
The parish held a May Festival in 1914 with dinner priced at twenty-five cents a person. For an additional twenty cents, festival-goers could attend a musical and dramatic entertainment titled, “Between the Acts.” Even in the early days, sharing meals, fundraising and community building were an integral part of parish life.

For his first few years in Pittsford, Father Edelman commuted from his home in Rochester by way of the old New York Central Railroad. In July of 1914, he purchased a residence at 31 Monroe Avenue in the village. The home of former State Senator Jarvis Lord sold for a reported $6,400, and so, for a monthly mortgage payment of about twenty-five dollars, St. Louis Church had its first rectory. 

For his first few years in Pittsford, Father Edelman commuted from his home in Rochester by way of the old New York Central Railroad. In July of 1914, he purchased a residence at 31 Monroe Avenue in the village. The home of former State Senator Jarvis Lord sold for a reported $6,400, and so, for a monthly mortgage payment of about twenty-five dollars, St. Louis Church had its first rectory.

A Cautious Approach to Change

Father Edelman saw a need for changes in the parish, but he approached the subject cautiously. It was an era when most pastors sought little input from their parishioners, yet Father Edelman asked for the congregation’s opinion on one of his proposed changes to the Sunday Mass schedule. Newspapers of the era, now in Diocesan archives report, “the young priest had very carefully worked out a schedule for Masses at Mendon and Pittsford, and broached the change to the parishioners. Up in the front seat stood old Tom Sullivan: ‘You’ll do no such thing.’ And Father Edelman, with a glance around, agreed with him: ‘I guess we won’t.’ Two weeks later, Sullivan approached the young priest: ‘Father, I’m eighty years old today. Here’s eighty dollars to buy a statue of Our Blessed Mother.” And so, confidences were won and the tiny rural church began to acquire some early furnishings. 

The Fire

The flock grew and, in the early 1920’s, so did the church building as Father Edelman oversaw the enlargement of the south sacristy. Disaster struck on February 27, 1923, when a fire caused by a defective chimney broke out in the church attic. The blaze drew a large crowd of onlookers from the village and nearby farms. Father Edelman, one of the first on the scene, swiftly removed the Blessed Sacrament and sacred vessels. Firemen from the twenty-five year old Pittsford Fire Department battled the flames for more than an hour. Their diligent efforts saved the church from extensive damage, but the fire had burned its way into a corner of the sanctuary and brought down half the ceiling. Damages totaled nearly $4,200. Fortunately, insurance covered most of the repair costs with little expense to the congregation. In 1935, to accommodate the developing need for religious education, the church was renovated to make space for instruction rooms. 

Father Edelman’s Role in Village Life 

A first-hand account of life in the village during the Edelman era comes to us from parishioner James G. Burdett, whose family operated a store near the rectory. “Father was always a part of life in the village, particularly the life of children,” Mr. Burdett recalls. “When we stopped by his home, his housekeeper, Miss Farrell always had a cookie for each of us. Father would take us to his camp on Lake Ontario without any regard as to which church we attended. As we got older, when Father would see us hitchhiking to Rochester, he would stop his car and tell us to hop in. He would take us to the theater of our choice and even give us money for a ticket. When we had to leave for service in World War II, Father Edelman was there to wish us well and pray for our safe return. After the war, he welcomed us home and, in my case, performed our wedding ceremony.”

25th Anniversary Celebration

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Father Edelman’s pastorate of the parish in July of 1936, two hundred and fifty guests, including people from St. Louis and surrounding parishes as well as other friends of Father Edelman, gathered at the Pittsford Inn (today’s Phoenix Building). A chicken dinner was served and the Rev. H. J. Bortle, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, extended greetings from the Protestant congregations of the village. The principal speaker of the evening was Mr. Clyde O’Brien, a Rochester attorney, who was a member of St. Louis. 
The St. Louis Chapel in Bushnell’s Basin
In 1948, Father Edelman said the first Christmas Mass at St. Louis’s new chapel at the corner of Route 96 and Thornell Road in Bushnell’s Basin. The Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel was part of St. Louis parish until 1962, when it was gifted to the new St. John of Rochester parish. In recent times, the building has housed a variety of small commercial businesses.

St. Louis School Begins in Historic Home

In 1949, the historic Augustus Elliot house (also known as the Hargous-Briggs house) at 52 South Main Street, was purchased in preparation for establishing the first St. Louis School. Today, referred to by the church as “the Manse,” the stately Federal structure serves St. Louis as library, classroom and meeting space.