About Our Lady of Loreto · Falconer, New York
Our Lady of Loreto was a small Roman Catholic parish of the Diocese of Buffalo located at 309 West Everett Street in the village of Falconer, Chautauqua County, New York. The parish was founded in 1912 to serve the local Catholic community and was listed in the Official Catholic Directory with 175 registered families. Since 2022 it operated as part of the 'Catholic Neighbors in Faith' Family of Parishes (Family #4), a grouping that included St. James in Jamestown, Sacred Heart in Lakewood, Holy Apostles in Jamestown, and the linked St. Patrick in Randolph. As part of Bishop Michael W. Fisher's diocesan 'Road to Renewal' reorganization, Our Lady of Loreto was scheduled to merge with St. James, Jamestown, and the Falconer church was closed effective Monday, May 19, 2025, after more than a century of ministry in the village.
- Established
- 1912
- Patron
- Our Lady of Loreto (the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Holy House of Loreto)
- Rector
- Rev. Paul S. Cygan (Administrator; parochial vicar serving as head of the parish in the latest diocesan directory)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo (Family #4 — Catholic Neighbors in Faith)
Why belong here
Our Lady of Loreto offered an intimate, family-sized Catholic community rooted in the village of Falconer for more than a century, with a Saturday Vigil and Sunday Mass schedule, weekday Masses, Saturday confessions, a religious education program, a Respect Life ministry, and an active youth group led by Ted Toy that produced an annual Living Nativity. As part of the Catholic Neighbors in Faith Family of Parishes, the parish was connected to four neighboring worship sites — St. Patrick in Randolph, St. James in Jamestown, Sacred Heart in Lakewood, and Holy Apostles in Jamestown — so parishioners always had neighboring Mass times and ministries. The diocese has confirmed that the ministries and outreach programs of the parish will continue within the merged parishes of Family #4 following the May 2025 closure of the Falconer worship site.
Mass times at Our Lady of Loreto
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30 PM
- Seasonal penance services
- Anytime by appointment
Parish Identity and Closure (2025)
Our Lady of Loreto in Falconer was closed effective Monday, May 19, 2025, following the Diocese of Buffalo's 'Road to Renewal' pastoral planning process. The parish had been recommended in June 2024 to merge with St. James, Jamestown, and the Falconer campus was scheduled to be sold. The parish had been listed in the Official Catholic Directory with 175 registered families and had been serving the village of Falconer since 1912. Despite the physical closure of the church building on West Everett Street, the diocese stated that ministries, outreach programs, and special events such as the parish's Living Nativity would be continued in the merged Family #4 of Catholic Neighbors in Faith.
- Closed effective May 19, 2025
- Merged into St. James, Jamestown (Family #4 / Catholic Neighbors in Faith)
- Falconer campus slated for sale under the Road to Renewal plan
History (1912 – 2025)
Our Lady of Loreto was founded in 1912 as a Catholic parish in the village of Falconer, Chautauqua County, in the Diocese of Buffalo. It served the local faithful for more than a century from its church at 309 West Everett Street, becoming one of the recognizable fixtures of the village alongside its linked parish, St. Patrick in Randolph. After Father Joseph P. Janaczek's death in early 2022, the diocese appointed Rev. Donald R. Watkins Jr. as temporary administrator beginning May 11, 2022. In March 2023, Father Watkins and Rev. Paul S. Cygan were named parochial vicars of Family #4 for a three-year term. The Road to Renewal announcement of June 2024 confirmed the recommendation to close the Falconer site, a decision finalized with the May 2025 closure.
- Founded 1912 in the Diocese of Buffalo
- Served Falconer village for over 110 years
- Linked with St. Patrick, Randolph under Family #4
Catholic Neighbors in Faith (Family #4)
Since at least 2022, Our Lady of Loreto operated as part of Catholic Neighbors in Faith, the Family of Parishes #4 of the Diocese of Buffalo. This family originally comprised four parishes and five worship sites: St. Patrick in Randolph, Our Lady of Loreto in Falconer, Sacred Heart in Lakewood, St. James in Jamestown (with an Our Lady of Victory site), and Holy Apostles in Jamestown (with Ss. Peter and Paul and St. John sites). Pastoral leadership for the family has been provided by Rev. Paul S. Cygan (Administrator), Rev. Donald R. Watkins Jr. (Parochial Vicar), and Rev. Marcin Porada (Parochial Vicar). Following the May 2025 closures, the family has been right-sized: the St. John site of Holy Apostles closed, the Panama site of Sacred Heart closed, the Our Lady of Victory site of St. James closed, and Our Lady of Loreto itself merged with St. James, Jamestown.
- Four parishes, originally five worship sites
- Pastoral leadership: Fr. Cygan, Fr. Watkins, Fr. Porada
- Central phone: 1-716-487-0125 — email: [email protected]
Clergy and Staff
The parish was served by a small pastoral team. The latest diocesan Official Catholic Directory lists Rev. Paul S. Cygan as Administrator and Rev. Donald R. Watkins Jr. and Rev. Marcin Porada as parochial vicars for the family. Phyllis Scholeno served as pastoral assistant, John Brustrom as business manager, Marilyn Wozneak as Director of Religious Education, Melissa Heitzenrater Beichner as music director, Mary Short as Respect Life coordinator, James Cusimano as Safe Environment coordinator, and Ted Toy as youth minister. Father Watkins was named temporary parish administrator of both Our Lady of Loreto and St. Patrick on May 11, 2022, after the death of the previous administrator, Father Joseph P. Janaczek.
- Rev. Paul S. Cygan — Administrator
- Rev. Donald R. Watkins Jr. — Parochial Vicar (formerly Temporary Administrator, 2022)
- Rev. Marcin Porada — Parochial Vicar
- Ted Toy — Youth Minister
Ministries and Faith Formation
Our Lady of Loreto maintained a small but active set of parish ministries. The Religious Education program was led by Director of Religious Education Marilyn Wozneak (716-665-3764). The youth ministry, under Ted Toy, mounted the parish's signature annual Living Nativity, a tradition that ran every year for 12 consecutive years and concluded with a final staging on December 1, 2024, before the parish's closure. The Music Ministry was directed by Melissa Heitzenrater Beichner. The parish also had a Respect Life coordinator (Mary Short) and a Safe Environment coordinator (James Cusimano). Phyllis Scholeno served as pastoral assistant, and John Brustrom as business manager.
- Religious Education — Marilyn Wozneak
- Youth Ministry & annual Living Nativity — Ted Toy
- Music Ministry — Melissa Heitzenrater Beichner
- Respect Life — Mary Short; Safe Environment — James Cusimano
Sacraments
As a parish of the Diocese of Buffalo, Our Lady of Loreto offered the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Confessions were scheduled on Saturdays at 3:30 PM, with seasonal penance services during Advent and Lent, and by appointment at any time. Baptisms, marriages, and the anointing of the sick were arranged through the rectory; first Communion and confirmation were prepared through the Religious Education program. After the May 2025 closure, the sacraments continue to be administered through the Catholic Neighbors in Faith Family of Parishes.
- Confession: Saturday 3:30 PM and by appointment
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing: by appointment through the rectory
- First Communion and Confirmation: through Religious Education
Visiting and Contact
Before its closure, the parish could be reached at 309 West Everett Street, Falconer, NY 14733-1607. Telephone: (716) 665-4253. Fax: (716) 664-9223. Email: [email protected]. The parish's online presence was hosted on a Weebly site (ollparish.weebly.com) and later within the Catholic Neighbors in Faith Family of Parishes site at cniffamily.org, which now carries the parish's Mass-times listing and information. The diocesan mailing address for the administrator was 27 Allen St., Jamestown, NY 14701-6687. The village of Falconer is located just minutes from Jamestown, and the larger Catholic Neighbors in Faith network covers worship sites in Jamestown, Lakewood, and Randolph.
- 309 West Everett Street, Falconer, NY 14733-1607
- Phone: (716) 665-4253 — Fax: (716) 664-9223
- Email: [email protected]
- Web: cniffamily.org/mass-times/
About Our Lady of Loreto (the patron)
Our Lady of Loreto is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with the Holy House of Loreto in Italy, venerated as the supposed house of the Holy Family miraculously transported from Nazareth. The feast of Our Lady of Loreto is celebrated on December 10 in the Roman Catholic calendar. The Falconer parish took this devotion as its patron when it was established in 1912 during a period of strong Italian Catholic immigration to western New York. (Parishes of the same dedication in Brooklyn and Manhattan's Lower East Side were similarly founded by Italian immigrants, but they are separate parishes with their own histories.)
- Patron: Our Lady of Loreto
- Feast day: December 10
- Tied to the Holy House of Loreto devotion
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Joseph P. Janaczek
Parish administrator who recently passed away before May 2022.
- Rev. Donald R. Watkins Jr.2022–2023
Appointed temporary parish administrator of Our Lady of Loreto, Falconer, and St. Patrick, Randolph, beginning May 11, 2022, replacing Fr. Janaczek. He had previously been ministering at St. Christopher Parish in Tonawanda. In March 2023 he was named parochial vicar of Family #4 (Catholic Neighbors in Faith) for a three-year term.
- Rev. Paul S. Cygan2023–2025
Named parochial vicar of Family #4 beginning March 20, 2023, having previously served as parochial vicar of Holy Apostles since July 2021. Listed as Administrator of Our Lady of Loreto in the diocesan Official Catholic Directory at the time of the parish's 2025 closure.