About Infant Jesus Shrine · North Tonawanda, New York
Infant Jesus Shrine (formally the Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus) is a Catholic shrine church located at 3452 Niagara Falls Boulevard in North Tonawanda, New York. It is staffed and spiritually served by the Pallottine Fathers (Society of the Catholic Apostolate, S.A.C.), a religious order founded by St. Vincent Pallotti. The shrine was originally established in 1887 as a parish for the Polish-American community of the Niagara frontier and was formally elevated to the status of a shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus. It is part of the Diocese of Buffalo, serves a multicultural Catholic population in both English and Polish, and continues to function as an active place of devotion, pilgrimage, Eucharistic adoration, and parish life — as well as a local landmark for its Polish-language Sunday Mass and Saturday-night bingo tradition.
- Established
- 1887
- Patron
- The Holy Infant Jesus
- Diocese
- Diocese of Buffalo
Why belong here
Infant Jesus Shrine offers a rare combination in the Diocese of Buffalo: a Pallottine-staffed devotional shrine with a fully traditional daily Mass schedule — including a Sunday Mass celebrated in Polish — combined with daily Eucharistic adoration and confessions every weekday and Saturday afternoon. It is a place rooted in Polish-American Catholic heritage (founded 1887) but welcomes English-speaking parishioners and visitors of all backgrounds, and its parish hall hosts a long-running Saturday-night bingo that funds shrine operations. For anyone in the Niagara frontier looking for a quiet, devotional rhythm centered on the Christ Child, with Polish-language liturgy still alive, the shrine is an unusually distinctive spiritual home.
Mass times at Infant Jesus Shrine
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Weekdays: 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM
- Saturday: 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM
Adoration times
- Weekdays: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
- Saturday: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
- Sunday: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
About Infant Jesus Shrine
The Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus in North Tonawanda, New York, is a Catholic shrine church founded in 1887 and entrusted to the Pallottine Fathers (Society of the Catholic Apostolate, S.A.C.). It is located on Niagara Falls Boulevard and belongs to the Diocese of Buffalo, while serving as an active devotional shrine to the Holy Infant Jesus with a particular Polish-American heritage.
- Type: Shrine (Catholic)
- Founded: 1887
- Dedication dates recorded: April 30, 1958 and January 20, 1979
- Religious order in residence: Pallottine Fathers (S.A.C.)
- Diocese: Buffalo
History of the Shrine
Founded in 1887 as a Polish Catholic parish on the Niagara frontier, the shrine has been served for generations by the Pallottine Fathers. Key milestones include the construction and dedication of the present church on April 30, 1958 and a re-dedication on January 20, 1979. In 1976, Rev. Franciszek Antoni Cegielka, S.A.C., a Polish-born theologian and WWII concentration-camp survivor, was named director. Rev. Seweryn J. Koszyk, S.A.C., served at the shrine from 1971, returned again in 2008, and died in 2024; his funeral Mass was held at the shrine.
- 1887 — Parish founded for Polish-American Catholics
- 1958-04-30 — Dedication of the present shrine building
- 1976 — Rev. Franciszek A. Cegielka, S.A.C., becomes director
- 1979-01-20 — Shrine re-dedication
- 1971 — Rev. Seweryn J. Koszyk, S.A.C., arrives in the U.S. and is assigned to the shrine
- 2008 — Fr. Koszyk returns to the shrine after pastoring St. George, Niagara Falls
- 2024-08-06 — Fr. Koszyk dies at age 89
The Pallottine Fathers (S.A.C.)
The shrine is staffed by the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, the religious institute founded in Rome in 1835 by St. Vincent Pallotti and commonly known as the Pallottine Fathers. The order has had a continuous presence at the shrine, training and housing priests who also serve other parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo (e.g., Ascension Parish in North Tonawanda, St. George Parish in Niagara Falls) and chaplaincies such as the VA Medical Center in Buffalo.
- Religious institute: Society of the Catholic Apostolate (S.A.C.)
- Founded by St. Vincent Pallotti, 1835
- Provides priests for the shrine and other diocesan parishes
Polish Heritage & Polish-Language Mass
The shrine was founded to serve Polish Catholic immigrants and remains an important anchor of Polish-American Catholic life in the Niagara region. Polish-language liturgy has been preserved alongside English, with a Sunday Mass in Polish still on the regular schedule.
- Sunday 10:00 AM Mass celebrated in Polish
- Polish-American devotional tradition to the Holy Infant Jesus
Pallottine Fathers Bingo
One of the most distinctive traditions of the shrine is its Saturday-night bingo game. Held in the parish hall, 'Pallottine Fathers Bingo' begins at 7:00 PM and serves as both a community gathering and a major fundraiser supporting the shrine and its resident Pallottine community.
- Saturdays at 7:00 PM
- Held in the shrine's parish hall
- Fundraiser for the shrine
Notable People Associated with the Shrine
Several Pallottine priests have made the shrine their base for ministries throughout western New York. Two in particular — Rev. Franciszek Antoni Cegielka and Rev. Seweryn J. Koszyk — shaped its 20th- and 21st-century identity as a center of Polish-American Catholic scholarship, devotion, and pastoral care.
- Rev. Franciszek Antoni Cegielka, S.A.C. — director from 1976; theologian; WWII survivor
- Rev. Seweryn J. Koszyk, S.A.C. — served 1971–2024; died Aug 6, 2024
- Rev. George E. Maj, S.A.C. — resident priest (subject of 2013–14 estate dispute)
- Rev. John Posiewala, S.A.C. — referenced as superior at the shrine
Diocese of Buffalo
The shrine is located within the Diocese of Buffalo, the Roman Catholic diocese serving the eight counties of western New York. Although the shrine is staffed by the religious-order Pallottine Fathers, it functions as a parish church within the diocese and its resident priests also undertake diocesan parish assignments.
- Diocese: Diocese of Buffalo
- Diocesan website: buffalodiocese.org
- Rite: Roman-Latin
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Franciszek Antoni Cegielka, S.A.C.1976–
Polish-born Pallottine theologian, Th.D. from the Gregorian University; former Gestapo prisoner; named director of the Sanctuary of the Infant Jesus in 1976 per Who's Who in Polish America.
- Rev. Seweryn J. Koszyk, S.A.C.1971–1971; later 2008–2024
Joined the Pallottines 1952, ordained 1959. Came to U.S. 1971 and served at Infant Jesus Shrine and Ascension Parish (North Tonawanda); also served St. John the Evangelist (South Buffalo), St. John Kanty (Buffalo), and as pastor of St. George Parish, Niagara Falls 1981–2008; returned to the Infant Jesus Shrine 2008. Died Aug 6, 2024.
- Rev. John Posiewala, S.A.C.
Identified as the Pallottine superior at the Infant Jesus Shrine during the Fr. George Maj will controversy reported in 2013–2014.