About All Saints · Corning, New York
All Saints Parish is a Roman Catholic parish in Corning, New York (Steuben County), belonging to the Diocese of Rochester. The parish is the merged successor of four historic Catholic communities — St. Mary (founded 1849), St. Patrick (1886/1902), St. Vincent de Paul (1913), and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Painted Post (1952) — which were canonically clustered in 1990 and reestablished together as All Saints Parish in 2001 by Bishop Matthew Clark. After successive closures of the St. Patrick (2003), St. Vincent de Paul (2018) and Immaculate Heart of Mary (2019) worship sites, the parish now worships at St. Mary Church on State Street, the same hilltop church that has anchored Catholic life in Corning since 1870. Today's parish is led by Fr. Matthew Walter and offers daily and Sunday Mass, the sacrament of Reconciliation, faith formation, RCIA, youth ministry, pro-life and outreach ministries, and a televised Mass on WETM.
- Established
- 1849 (St. Mary Church dedicated July 24, 1849); All Saints Parish formed 2001
- Patron
- All Saints (parish title); the principal worship site, St. Mary Church, is dedicated to Mary, Mother of Mercy
- Rector
- Rev. Matthew J. Walter (Parochial Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rochester
Why belong here
All Saints Parish welcomes anyone seeking a steady, intergenerational Catholic community in the Corning–Painted Post region. The parish offers daily and Sunday Mass, the sacrament of Reconciliation four days a week, a televised Sunday Mass on WETM that reaches the homebound, an active RCIA process for adults entering the Church, faith formation and Vacation Bible Camp for children, a full-time youth ministry, and a broad network of lay-led ministries including Pro-Life, Healing Prayer, Visitation (hospitals, nursing homes, hospice, and the homebound), Stewardship, and Parish/Finance/Facilities Councils. For a parishioner, that means real ways to be known, to serve, and to grow in faith in a single, historic worship site on Corning's State Street hill.
Mass times at All Saints
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday: 11:30 am – 12:10 pm
- Wednesday: 11:30 am – 12:10 pm
- Friday: 11:30 am – 12:10 pm
- Thursday: 7:15 – 8:45 pm
- Saturday: 3:30 – 4:30 pm at St. Mary Church
All Saints Parish — Overview
All Saints Parish is the Roman Catholic community serving Corning, Painted Post and the surrounding Steuben County area in the Diocese of Rochester. After the 2018 and 2019 closures of St. Vincent de Paul and Immaculate Heart of Mary worship sites, the parish now gathers at St. Mary Church on State Street — the same hilltop church that has been the heart of Catholic life in Corning since 1870. The parish's mission is summed up as: 'Love God. Love Self. Love Others. Share Jesus.'
- Diocese of Rochester
- St. Mary Church, 155 State Street, Corning, NY 14830
- Parish Offices, 158 State Street, Corning, NY 14830
- Parish office hours: Monday–Thursday, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
History of the Catholic Community in Corning
Catholic life in Corning began in 1842 as a mission of St. Francis de Sales in Geneva, became a permanent parish with the dedication of 'Our Lady Help of Christians' (St. Mary Church) on July 24, 1849, and grew through the 19th and 20th centuries as Irish and Italian immigrants built St. Patrick (1886/1902), St. Vincent de Paul (1913) and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Painted Post (1952). The parishes pioneered a shared-pastorate cluster in 1990 and were canonically merged in 2001 into All Saints Parish by Bishop Matthew Clark. The 1972 flood, the 2006–2007 financial crisis, the successive closure of three worship sites, and the 2022 closing of All Saints Academy have all shaped today's single-site parish.
- 1842 — Corning assigned as a mission to Fr. Patrick Bradley
- July 24, 1849 — First St. Mary Church dedicated
- 1854 — Fr. Thomas Cunningham becomes first resident pastor
- 1866–1870 — Present stone St. Mary Church and rectory built under Fr. Colgan
- 1886 — St. Patrick chapel opens; becomes a parish in 1902
- July 19, 1913 — Fr. John A. Conway named first pastor of St. Vincent de Paul
- 1952 — Immaculate Heart of Mary Church opens in Painted Post
- 1972 — Catastrophic flood devastates the valley parishes
- 1990 — Four parishes form the 'Roman Catholic Community of Corning-Painted Post' cluster
- 2001 — Bishop Clark reestablishes the cluster as All Saints Parish
- 2003 — St. Patrick Church closed
- 2018 — St. Vincent de Paul Church closed
- 2019 — Immaculate Heart of Mary Church closed
- 2022 — All Saints Academy closes after 150+ years of Catholic education
- October 2024 — Parish celebrates its 175th anniversary with Bishop Matano
Parish Staff and Leadership
All Saints Parish is led by Parochial Administrator Fr. Matthew J. Walter and supported by a small lay staff and elected council leaders. Zachary Frank serves as Pastoral Associate and Faith Formation Coordinator, overseeing RCIA and parish religious education. Pastoral and Finance Councils, chaired by Theresa Graham and Buddy Cutler respectively, work with the pastor on the life and stewardship of the parish.
- Rev. Matthew J. Walter — Parochial Administrator (ext. 216)
- John Horigan — Operations and Business Manager (ext. 210)
- Cathy Buck — Office Manager (ext. 203)
- Zachary Frank — Pastoral Associate & Faith Formation Coordinator (ext. 208)
- Jill Riemann — Bookkeeper (ext. 211)
- Bob Walsh — Organist
- Theresa Graham — Parish Council Chair
- Buddy Cutler — Finance Council Chair
Faith Formation and RCIA
Faith Formation at All Saints is coordinated by Pastoral Associate Zachary Frank. The parish's IGNITE program offers religious education for children, and the annual Vacation Bible Camp is at an all-time high in attendance. Adult initiation is served by a year-round RCIA process with weekly classes and 1:1 mentorship, welcoming unbaptized adults, validly baptized non-Catholic Christians, and baptized Catholics returning to the faith or in need of sacraments. Participants are received into the Church at the Easter Vigil.
- RCIA — weekly classes year-round plus 1:1 mentorship
- IGNITE Faith Formation for children
- Vacation Bible Camp
- First Communion and Confirmation preparation
- Contact: Faith Formation Coordinator, (607) 936-4689 ext. 208
Youth and Family Ministry
All Saints Parish operates a full-time youth ministry that fully implements the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' vision and curriculum for adolescent catechesis and evangelization. The program builds on the parish's strong children's faith formation and Vacation Bible Camp enrollment, giving young people in the Corning–Painted Post area a Catholic community of their own.
- Full-time youth minister on staff
- USCCB-based youth ministry curriculum
- Connections to parish family life and sacramental preparation
Liturgical and Music Ministry
Liturgies at St. Mary Church are supported by a parish organist and by the Stewardship and Communications Teams that handle scheduling, hospitality and parish-wide communications. The 5:00 pm Saturday Vigil Mass is recorded each week and broadcast the following morning, making the parish's principal Sunday liturgy available to those unable to attend in person.
- Bob Walsh — Parish Organist
- Live-streamed Sunday 10:30 am Mass on YouTube
- Televised Sunday 11:00 am Mass on WETM 18.2
Parish Ministries and Outreach
Lay involvement is central to All Saints Parish. Beyond worship, parishioners serve through a Pro-Life team that advocates for the unborn, a Healing Prayer Ministry Team, a Visitation Ministry that brings Communion and company to hospitals, hospice patients, nursing homes and the homebound, and councils for parish life, finances and facilities. A Communications Team and a Stewardship Team round out the parish's lay leadership structure.
- Pro-Life Team
- Healing Prayer Ministry Team
- Visitation Ministry (hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, homebound)
- Stewardship Team
- Communications Team
- Parish Pastoral Council (chair: Theresa Graham)
- Finance Council (chair: Buddy Cutler)
- Facilities Council
All Saints Academy and Catholic Education
Catholic education in Corning dates to 1855, when St. Mary's School was first established. The schools consolidated over time — St. Mary's and St. Patrick's combining as Catholic School South in 1971, then merging with Catholic School North in 1980 to form All Saints Academy at the historic St. Mary's campus at 158 State Street. All Saints Academy, which served Pre-K through Grade 8 under the Diocese of Rochester, closed in 2022 after 33 students registered for the fall term against a budget that required 102. Although classroom instruction has ended, the parish continues to offer faith formation programs for youth and families on the same campus.
- St. Mary's School founded 1855
- 1971 — Catholic School South formed
- 1980 — All Saints Academy formed from Catholic School South + Catholic School North
- 2022 — All Saints Academy closes after 150+ years of Catholic education in Corning
- 158 State Street, Corning, NY 14830
- Faith formation programs continue on site for youth and families
Sacraments at All Saints
All Saints Parish prepares and celebrates the seven sacraments at St. Mary Church and, when needed, in homes, hospitals and nursing homes. Reconciliation is offered on a published weekly schedule. The parish maintains a 24/7 emergency line for Anointing of the Sick.
- Baptism — preparation through the parish office
- Confirmation — preparation through Faith Formation
- First Eucharist — preparation through Faith Formation / RCIA
- Penance (Reconciliation) — see schedule under Mass & Reconciliation
- Matrimony — preparation through the parish office
- Anointing of the Sick — by appointment; emergency line (607) 481-1113
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Patrick Bradley1842–
Assigned Corning as a mission from St. Francis de Sales, Geneva, by Bishop John J. Hughes of New York.
- Fr. John Sheridan1847–
Based in Owego/Elmira, charged with pastoral care of Corning; oversaw building of first St. Mary Church (dedicated 1849).
- Fr. John Boyle1850–
Continued to serve St. Mary as a mission site.
- Fr. Thomas Cunningham1854–1860
First resident pastor of St. Mary Church.
- Fr. Colgan1860–c.1896
36-year pastorate; shepherded parish through Civil War; broke ground in 1866 for the present stone church and rectory, dedicated as St. Mary, Mother of Mercy in 1870.
- Fr. James Griffinc.1896–c.1916
20-year pastorate; oversaw Italian immigration, reorganization of religious education, and the local KKK/schism difficulties.
- Fr. John A. Conway1913–
Appointed first pastor of new St. Vincent de Paul parish by Bishop Hickey (July 19, 1913).
- Sr. Joan Cawley, SSJ2000–
Appointed by Bishop Clark as first Pastoral Administrator of the four-church cluster, then of All Saints Parish after its 2001 reestablishment.
- Deacon Dean Condon2006–
Appointed Pastoral Administrator by Bishop Clark; led the parish through the 2006–2007 financial crisis and oversaw the new Pastoral/Finance/Facilities Councils, Communications Team and Stewardship Team.
- Fr. Matthew F. Jonespre-2022
Pastor at the time All Saints Academy closed in 2022.
- Rev. Matthew J. Waltercurrent
Current Parochial Administrator; presided over the parish's 175th anniversary Mass in October 2024.