Built in 1886, St. Ann’s Church

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has addressed controversy surrounding the sale of St. Ann’s Church to the local Muslim community, following a surge of angry reactions on social media.

Built in 1886, St. Ann’s Church was closed in 2007 due to a decline in parishioners and was sold to a holding company, Buffalo Crescent Holdings, in 2022. Recent discussions on social media, including a widely shared post claiming the church was sold to be converted into a mosque, have triggered significant backlash.

The post, shared by an account named ‘Father R. Vierling’ on X, featured images of the Gothic-style church and claimed it had been sold for $250,000 to be transformed into a mosque. The post garnered 11 million views and sparked a wave of angry comments.

In response to the outrage, the original poster clarified that the sale was a result of the parish’s inability to sustain itself financially due to changing demographics and declining support. He emphasized that similar scenarios are occurring in urban dioceses nationwide.

The Diocese of Buffalo confirmed that financial reasons were indeed behind the sale. Diocese spokesman Joe Martone explained to The Tablet that repairing St. Ann’s would have required over $30 million, a sum far exceeding the diocese’s capacity.

Martone also noted that the diocese had declared bankruptcy in 2020 due to mounting allegations of sexual abuse involving clergy and other employees.

The sale of St. Ann’s, along with a school and convent complex, was finalized in November 2022. Although local reports suggested that the property would be converted into a mosque, neither the Islamic Center nor the diocese confirmed this at the time of the sale.

Martone stated that the diocese had released the property for “profane use,” meaning it could be repurposed for any non-sacred use, provided it was not deemed “sacrilegious, immoral, or scandalous.” He added that the diocese has previously sold properties to other religious groups for faith-related purposes without issue.

Buffalo, a city with a population of nearly 280,000 on the shores of Lake Erie, has experienced an increase in immigrant communities from Yemen, Somalia, Bangladesh, and Iraq since 2000.