Celebrating Holy Eucharist at St. Pacificus

A small Catholic church/oratory that has served as a place of worship for 158 years in Humphrey.

It is believed that the Humphrey oratory and church is the only Catholic church in North America dedicated to St. Pacificus, who was born in San Severino in March 1653. Blind, deaf and crippled for 29 years of his life, St. Pacificus “bore his ills with angelic patience, worked several miracles and was favored by God with ecstasies,” according to information provided by the Catholic Church.

The addition of the statue underscores even more the church/oratory’s significance in Western New York religious landmarks. Considered the “mother church” of the Franciscan Order, it was the first mission church to be built by Italian Franciscan friars who traveled to Humphrey.