Image from Saint Ann's Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // The historic building that was once St Anne’s Catholic Church in Buffalo, New York, will soon be converted into a Muslim mosque following a controversial sale that took place last year.
According to NewsWeek, the Diocese of Buffalo sold the St Anne’s Church complex for $250,000. The property was sold to Buffalo Crescent Holdings, which is reportedly affiliated with the Downtown Islamic Center, after having been out of use due to structural safety concerns since 2012.
A social media frenzy was stirred over the sale and conversion this past weekend when a popular priest, Fr Ronald Vierling, posted about it on his X account.
“St. Anne’s Church, Buffalo, NY. Permanently closed. Sold to the Islamic community for $250,000 who are converting the historic church into a mosque,” Fr Vierling wrote in the post, which includes several photos of the beautiful historic building and interior.
“No anger should be directed against the Islamic community,” he later added in a comment:
The parish complex was made available for sale by the diocese. No doubt the changing demographics of the area and the inability to financially support the complex made the continuance of St. Ann as a viable parish possible.
This scenario is being played out in once large, urban dioceses across the country.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the Buffalo Diocese announced earlier this year that it planned to sell its headquarters building for $9.8 million in the wake of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing several years ago.
A local news outlet reported in November 2022 following the sale that the Muslim group had been searching for a worship center since early 2021 and that plans for the property’s renovation are estimated to cost around $22.5 million.
The Muslim group plans to carry out the process over the next several years, transforming the church into a mosque and community center, the rectory into a health care center, and the school into administrative offices and medical testing labs.
