From October 18 – 22, 2011, more than 2,500 delegates attended the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual conference in Buffalo. To celebrate this major tourism event and the architectural wonders of Western New York – of which we are one – Blessed Trinity opened its doors for free, docent-guided tours on October 22nd and 23rd. More than 65 visitors from as near as Woodbridge Avenue and as far as Massachusetts, Virginia, Wisconsin, San Francisco, CA (!) and Toronto, Canada joined us for Mass and/or tours of the church. Let us hope and pray that the enthusiasm and recognition around Buffalo and WNY’s magnificent sights will be an impetus to work toward building a community of peace, unity and compassion for all. Click HERE to view Blessed Trinity’s This Place Matters photo on The National Trust’s web site.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation 2011 Conference in Buffalo put our city’s architectural treasury of civic, sacred and residential landmarks “front and center” for a national audience. In the aftermath of this high profile event, a new collaborative titled the Buffalo Alliance (the “Alliance”) for Sacred Places has been formed “to promote the preservation and appreciation of the art, architecture and history of Buffalo’s houses of worship.” The initial member organizations, which began meeting in January, 2012, are Blessed Trinity, the Buffalo Religious Arts Center, Corpus Christi RC Church, and First Presbyterian Church. The group chose to participate in The New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Open House Weekend on May 19-20, 2012 as their first collaborative initiative. Over the two-day period, Blessed Trinity welcomed 98 visitors including residents of Rochester, Toronto, Pennsylvania and Michigan. To learn more about the other Alliance sites, click HERE. We would also appreciate your becoming a friend of our Alliance on its Facebook page.