About St. Joseph. Our Lady of the Snow Parish. · Weedsport, New York
Our Lady of the Snow Parish is a Roman Catholic community in northern Cayuga County, New York, made up of two worship sites: St. Joseph Church in the village of Weedsport and St. Patrick Church in the hamlet of Cato. The parish was officially incorporated on July 7, 2005, uniting the historic faith communities of St. Joseph (Weedsport), St. John (Port Byron, closed in 2020) and St. Patrick (Cato) under one name. In 2019 Our Lady of the Snow was clustered with St. Mary's Parish and Saints Mary & Martha Parish in Auburn under one pastor and one pastoral staff. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, in the East Deanery.
- Established
- 2005
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Snow
- Rector
- Very Rev. Frank E. Lioi, VF (Pastor and Dean of the East Region)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester (East Deanery)
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Snow welcomes parishioners and visitors to two historic churches in small, tight-knit northern Cayuga villages. The parish gathers for Sunday Mass in Weedsport (10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's) and Cato (8:30 a.m. at St. Patrick's), with weekly Wednesday Mass and confessions at St. Patrick's. The Knights of Columbus Council 12223 meets on the second Tuesday of each month at St. Joseph Church, and the parish shares a vibrant Catholic cluster with St. Mary's and Saints Mary & Martha in Auburn, with one pastor and a unified pastoral staff serving youth ministry and new evangelization.
Mass times at St. Joseph. Our Lady of the Snow Parish.
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 8:30 AM at St. Patrick Church, 2576 E. Mechanic St, Cato (before the 9:00 AM Mass)
Welcome to Our Lady of the Snow Parish
Our Lady of the Snow Parish serves Catholics in the villages of Weedsport and Cato in northern Cayuga County, New York. It is one of three parishes in the Catholic Parishes of Auburn & Northern Cayuga, sharing one pastor (Very Rev. Frank E. Lioi, VF) and one pastoral staff with St. Mary's Parish and Saints Mary & Martha Parish in Auburn. The parish was officially incorporated under its current name on July 7, 2005.
- Two worship sites: St. Joseph (Weedsport) and St. Patrick (Cato)
- Sunday Mass: 8:30 AM at St. Patrick's, Cato; 10:30 AM at St. Joseph's, Weedsport
- Wednesday Mass & Confessions: 8:30 AM confessions and 9:00 AM Mass at St. Patrick's, Cato
- Part of the Diocese of Rochester, East Deanery
History of Our Lady of the Snow
Catholic life in northern Cayuga County began in the 1850s when the pastor of St. Alphonsus in Auburn was asked to look after the Catholics of Weedsport and the surrounding area. St. Joseph's was begun in Weedsport in 1854 as a mission, with a wooden church built that same year. A larger church at the corner of Route 34 and Hamilton Street was completed in 1859 and incorporated in 1869; the current St. Joseph Church was built on that same site in the 1950s, completed in 1957. Mission churches radiated outward from St. Joseph's to Port Byron (St. John's, 1858), Montezuma (St. Michael's, 1865) and Cato (St. Patrick's, 1874).
- 1853: Pastor of St. Alphonsus, Auburn given care of Weedsport-area Catholics
- 1854: St. Joseph's begun as a mission in Weedsport
- 1858: New St. Joseph Church begun at Rt. 34 & Hamilton St.
- 1859: St. Joseph's dedicated
- 1874: St. Patrick's in Cato built and incorporated
- 1865: St. Michael's, Montezuma, started by 14 families
- 1858: St. John's, Port Byron, begun as a mission of St. Joseph's
- 1985: Last Mass at St. Michael's, Montezuma
- 1986: Northern Cayuga Catholic Community formed
- July 7, 2005: St. Joseph's, St. John's and St. Patrick's incorporated as Our Lady of the Snow Parish
- June 2020: St. John's, Port Byron, closes
- 2019: Clustered with St. Mary's and Saints Mary & Martha, Auburn
Parish Leadership & Clergy
The parish is staffed by a pastor who also serves as Dean of the East Region of the Diocese of Rochester, a parochial vicar, and a deacon. Father Lioi was ordained in 1967 and has served as pastor of the Auburn-area parishes since 2004; he became pastor of Our Lady of the Snow when the cluster was formed in 2019. Father Martuscello oversees youth ministry, and Deacon Donahue coordinates new evangelization across the cluster.
- Very Rev. Frank E. Lioi, VF — Pastor and Dean of the East Region
- Rev. Joseph J. Martuscello — Parochial Vicar / Youth Ministry
- Deacon Dennis Donahue — New Evangelization Coordinator
Parish Office & Contact
Day-to-day parish business is handled at the regional office in Auburn. The parish phone line is 315-834-6266; the regional office can be reached at 315-252-7593, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Mailing envelopes should go to the Regional Finance Office at 90 Melrose Rd, Auburn, NY 13021 (mail is no longer received at the 2667 Hamilton Street office).
- Parish phone: 315-834-6266
- Regional parish office: 315-252-7593
- Parish office address: 299 Clark Street, Auburn, NY 13021
- Office hours: Mon–Fri, 9:00 AM–4:30 PM
- Email: [email protected]
Ministries & Groups
The parish supports a Knights of Columbus council, youth ministry, new evangelization efforts, and standard parish programs for registration and giving. The regional Catholic cluster offers additional opportunities through the Auburn parishes.
- Knights of Columbus Council 12223 — meets second Tuesday of the month at St. Joseph Church, Weedsport
- Youth Ministry — led by Father Joseph Martuscello
- New Evangelization — coordinated by Deacon Dennis Donahue
- Parish registration (form available on the parish website)
- Electronic Giving (auto-draft giving program)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Frank E. Lioi2019–2026
Pastor of the Auburn–Northern Cayuga cluster (St. Mary, Ss. Mary & Martha, and Our Lady of the Snow) from 2019. Previously pastor of St. Mary, Auburn from 2004; pastor of Ss. Mary & Martha (St. Francis & St. Hyacinth) from 2014. Ordained in 1967; granted senior status effective March 19, 2026.
- Father Joseph J. Martuscello
Parochial Vicar for the Auburn–Northern Cayuga cluster; reassigned in 2026 to St. Joseph and Holy Spirit in Penfield.