Founded in the early days of the Ordinariate in 2012, we are a Roman Catholic parish in the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter. As such, we are in full communion with the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.
Geography. We are located in Rochester, New York—the only Ordinariate parish in New York State. The nearest parishes are in Toronto, Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, and Scranton, Pennsylvania.
St. Alban. Our patron Saint is St. Alban, who is known as the first Christian martyr in Roman Britain in the third century. He lived at a time when the British Isles were under the rule of the Roman Empire. His feast day is June 22.
Christian Evangelists. We share the Ordinariate’s mission to bring the Good News of the Gospel to the world in our distinctive way with the Ordinariate Mass liturgy that preserves the holiness and beauty of the Anglican liturgical traditions. We seek to know, love and follow Jesus, our Savior. We also model Christian unity within our parish.
Holy and Beautiful Mass. Our parish celebrates the Ordinariate Mass using the beloved, reverent traditions and rituals that are incorporated into the Divine Worship liturgy and in our hymnal. These are treasures of the Anglican Communion and now also of the Roman Catholic Church. We have a choir led by a Music Director who is at the Eastman School of Music. They lead our congregation to fill the church with beautiful singing voices! It is not uncommon for something during the Mass to bring one to tears (in a good way!). Following each Mass, we also continue the Anglican and now Ordinariate tradition of fellowship with coffee hour with snacks and social time. We invite you to explore the Worship pages to learn more.
Unity in Diversity. Although some of our members were raised in the Episcopal Church, many are cradle Catholics, some are converts who are former Methodists and other Protestants, and some who were raised in homes without any religious influence at all. Some of us are members of Roman Catholic diocesan parishes in the Rochester and Buffalo dioceses along with St. Alban’s. Some of us also attend Latin Mass. We welcome others who are just as diverse!
Prayer. We pray together a lot. We have weekly Anglican morning prayer on Zoom every Thursday morning and Catholic Adoration hour on Saturdays. We pray frequently to Christ for the health of members of our parish and for the health of St. Alban's itself. The Divine Worship Mass is a set of formal prayers that we pray communally. We also pray together to celebrate feast days at family picnics and dinners at the homes of parish members. And, we also offer to pray for anyone in prayer intentions that anyone can request using the Contact Us form. We invite you to explore the Faith pages to learn more about our prayer life and the rest of how we live our Catholic faith.
Strong Families. We believe that it is extremely important to give our children a solid moral and cultural foundation with a religious upbringing. As a church, we worship Jesus together in the Holy Mass. We are one parish family, and like a family gathered for a feast, we have members of all ages. We love one another, we care for each other, and truly support our young families. We want our littlest members to grow up knowing they are beloved children in God’s own house. It works—at St. Alban’s, we have an abundance of altar servers because our kids are so engaged that they enjoy taking on the responsibilities of participating in the solemn rituals of the Mass.
Christian Social Lifestyle. We recognize the rich foundation and intimate friendships that St. Alban's offers. Therefore, we not only bring our kids to church every week and stay for fellowship, but we also host regular family dinners and picnics at our homes, inviting the entire parish community to spend quality time together with our families. Check out our calendar for upcoming dinners, outings, and family gatherings.
Overall Value. Our members value St. Alban’s so much that some are even willing to commute an hour or two from Buffalo and Ithaca to come to Mass regularly. Since the Ordinariate is still relatively young and growing, there are no other Catholic parishes in New York State that celebrate the Divine Worship liturgy. St. Alban’s truly is a special place.
Patient Wandering
In order to continue to evangelize in the future in alignment with the Ordinariate’s mission, St. Alban’s is in the process of seeking to purchase a parish campus for our permanent home. Since our founding in 2012, we have been using St. Cecilia Church for our worship and other activities, along with enjoying the leadership of four Ordinariate priests over the years.
Since July 2023, following the reassignment of our priest, we have been “wandering in the wilderness” without the stable comforts of a permanent church building, priest, or pipe organ. But, following St. Alban and many Apostles and Saints, we realize that trials and temptations and the need for humble and patient perseverance are inescapable parts of a successful life lived with God. Faith and holiness, like silver, are purified in fire.
We welcome you to join us in our wanderings as we position ourselves for what we hope and expect will be an exciting time beginning in 2025 with new life as a fast-growing startup Ordinariate parish that serves Upstate New York.
St. Alban's mission is to expand and strengthen Christ's diverse flock in Rochester and Upstate New York. We see a new generation of energetic, transformed Roman Catholic missionary disciples who are on fire for the Gospel, brought in through the treasures of the holiness and beauty of our Ordinariate traditions.