The following excerpts are from an article by Rita Doolin Esse, written in the Anniversary Issue, celebrating 50 years of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. 1989 marks the 85^th Anniversary of our parish and we are sure the following information is of interest to all of us.

                By 1904 the northern part of Rochester had witnessed a rapid development. The people living in this section of the city were members of St. Michael’s and Holy Redeemer parishes, and the long distance from either of these churches made it feasible to organize a new parish in this section of the city.
                On April 24, 1904, the Most Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid appointed Rev. John P. Schellhorn, assistant pastor at St. Michael’s Church, as the first rector of the new parish. The new church was to be built on the lower end of Joseph Avenue.

                Formal announcement was made at High Mass in St. Michael’s Church on Sunday, April 30 by the Rev. Mathias J. Hargather. The new parish, the twentieth Catholic parish in the diocese, was to comprise families from St. Michael’s and Holy Redeemer Churches and many residents of Irondequoit.

                On May 4, 1904, Father Schellhorn appointed Joseph Keller his first trustee, and May 6, George J. Maier was named the second trustee. Steps were now taken to incorporate the new parish. However, before this could be accomplished, it would be necessary to name the new church. During the deliberation for an appropriate name, Mr. Andrew Wollensak, a trustee of St. Michael’s Church and a close friend of the new rector, because of his great devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, asked for the privilege of naming the new church in honor of our Lady. The Most Reverend Bishop’s permission was obtained and Father Schellhorn granted Mr. Wollensak’s wish. The new parish was now known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. For the privilege accord him, Mr. Wollensak gave the munificent donation of $1,000 and also the beautiful statue of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Application for incorporation was made at the first trustee meeting held on May 31, 1904.

The Cornerstone
                By the end of June 1904, the plans submitted by Architect W. Foster Kelly had been accepted. The specifications called for the construction of a building of “artistic red brick, trimmed with Median stone.” (The building stood in the place where we now have our parking lot, next to the rectory.) The auditorium of the church seated 600 people. The second floor was used as a school. Construction began, and on July 19, 1904, Father Schellhorn laid the first stone in place. By September the building was ready for the laying of the cornerstone. On Sunday, September 11 five thousand people assembled on the grounds of the new building, on the street and on adjacent lots to witness the ceremony. The procession formed at three o’clock at St. Michael’s Church and marched down Clifford and Joseph Avenues to the new church. Headed by Hebing’s Band were the Regiment of the Knights of St. John.

Bishop McQuaid
                After the cornerstone was laid, Bishop McQuaid, accompanied by the dignitaries, marched around the walls, blessing them with holy water. Then the Bishop addressed the assembled. “This lower floor will be for the church proper: the upper one for the school. The Church has not divorced education from religion. It permits no divorce of man and wife; so it permits no divorce of religion from education. So while the sacred practices are carried on in the church below, the blessed work of the instructing in the same holy things will go on in the rooms above. The young will have to learn that God is supreme.”

Dedication Ceremony
                On January 22, 1905 the church was dedicated and the first services held. The dedication services consisted of the procession about the walls of the building, inside and out, during which the Bishop blessed the building. Following the dedication proper, Solemn High Mass was celebrated by Rev. Mathias J. Hargather, assisted by Rev. Jacob Staub as deacon and Rev. Bernard Gefell as subdeacon

The First Rectory
                A month later the rectory which had been begun in October 1904 was completed, and now in February 1905 it was ready for occupancy. (This first rectory was a wood structure and stood in the place of the present rectory.)

598 Persons
                Bishop McQuaid, in order to learn the attendance at Sunday Masses, asked that an enumeration be made in the Catholic churches of the city. This was done on April 30, 1905. This date coincidentally occurred just one year from the formal announcement of the new parish, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, still in the process of organization, reported a total of 598 persons: 156 men, 265 women and 177 children.

First Holy Communion
                In June 1905, First Holy Communion was received by the first class in the new parish. Since the school had not yet been established, the Sisters from St. Michael’s School instructed and prepared the first communicants.

260 Pupils
                Then on September 8, 1905 Our Lady of Perpetual Help School was opened with an enrollment of 260 pupils. It was staffed by four teachers, Sisters of St. Joseph.
                During the first year the Sisters had no convent. Finally in March 1906 a house was purchased at 70 Lang Street which became their first convent. On July 3, 1914 the present convent property was purchased from Mrs. Catherine Stoll and Mrs. John Maier, and the house which was situated on the property became the second convent. The Sisters now moved from Lang Street to their new convent at 1111 Joseph Avenue.

                With Bishop Thomas F. Hickey officiating, the cornerstone of the new church was laid on Sunday, June 20, 1925. In his address Bishop Hickey paid tribute to Father Schellhorn and his assistants for the rapid development of the parish.
                On May 30, 1926 the dedication of the new church took place. This date also marked the thirtieth anniversary of Father Schellhorn’s ordination to the priesthood.
                With the completion of the new church, the former church was remodeled into new schoolrooms, and the intention of ultimately using the entire structure as a parochial school was realized. The school enrollment had now reached 500 pupils.
                In January 1932 Father Schellhorn was named to the Board of Diocesan Consultors, and the following month on February 13, 1932 Bishop O'Hern notified him, that in recognition of his pastoral and diocesan labors, he had been elevated to the rank of Monsignor by Pope Pius XI. The investiture as a Domestic Prelate of the Holy Father was held shortly after Easter.
                On September 29, 1936 Archbishop Mooney appointed Rev. Frank J. Hoefen as the second pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. Although Father Hoefen came to the parish from Holy Trinity Church in Webster, he was well-known to many parishioners at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.
                Shortly after his appointment, Father Hoefen inaugurated the Novena devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Help which were held each Tuesday evening. These services were conducted for eighteen years in special homage to the Patroness of our parish.
                For some time plans had been discussed for the erection of a sorely-needed new convent. When construction began, the Sisters temporarily moved back to Lang Street, this time occupying opposite dwellings at 51 and 70 Lang Street. Progress on the new structure moved rapidly and on August 3, 1941 at 10:30 a.m. Msgr. Schellhorn, assigned by Father Hoefen, laid the cornerstone of the new dwelling. On Easter Sunday, April 5, 1942 the new convent was formally opened.
                The old rectory which had served its purpose long and well had ceased to be a suitable and adequate dwelling for the priests of the parish. It had long outgrown the needs of the parish and office space was the very minimum.

                Since the new structure was to be erected on the same site, the old rectory had to be moved. It was a fascinating sight for parishioners and neighbors to watch the old house slowly inch its way to the new location at 41 Lang Street. When it was finally settled on its new foundation, the priests lived here until the completion of the new building.

                In appearance the church, rectory and convent present a unity and harmony in architecture style, and together should fulfill their purpose for many decades to come.

                June 17, 1951 marked the formal opening of the new rectory. On this day, too, Father Hoefen observed the fortieth anniversary of his ordination to the Priesthood.

                June 6, 1954, was a day of joy and thanksgiving celebrating 50 years of OLPH parish.

                Thirty-nine years have passed since that Golden Anniversary. We will try to search the records if there are any available and the memories of our long time parishioners to continue the history of our parish. If you can help, please let us know.

                The above article was compiled by Deacon Klaus and Renate Schulz and published in the parish bulletin in 1989.

ARCHITECTURALLY SPEAKING

            The present Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was granted a building permit on April 15, 1925. Designed by Joseph H. Oberlies and George F. Lorenz, the church was constructed with cream colored pressed brick. It was trimmed with terra cotta and cast stone. A life-size relief panel of the Blessed Virgin stands high in the apse of the church overlooking Joseph Ave. It was constructed of specially fired terra cotta panels to protect it from the outdoor elements. The copper domed tower rises 110 feet on the south side of the façade and contains four bells.

            The interior of the church is done in Italian Renaissance of Luca Bella Robin 14^th century design. Extensive use of plaster relief creates intricate patterns throughout the church. You may note the number of angels in these details. They are in groups of three; the center angels faces straight ahead while the angels on either side gaze toward the center angel.  The windows are English Cathedral amber glass.

            During a redecoration in 1953 the Dapruto Studio of New York City installed the artistic lantern style fixtures that hang from the ceiling. The niches below the clerestory containing the symbols of Our Lady’s many titles chosen from the Litany of Loreto. The sanctuary panels contain pictures of the joyful mysteries of the rosary. During this time the baldachino was erected and the life-size crucifix was installed below the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Another restoration took place in 1993, which won an award from the Landmark Society.