St. Valentine

522 South Park Avenue, Buffalo New York

Pussy willows in the Old First Ward

The Old First Ward is noted for its Irish roots but is also home to many Polish immigrants which led to the building of St. Valentine's in 1922 to serve their needs.

Today, St. Valentine's is linked with Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a few blocks away on O'Connell Street.

I drove by this church many times thinking that it was a school and not church. However, this church is an example of a church/school combination building, that is more common in Buffalo than I thought. Other examples of this type of church are Visitation in Lovejoy, St. Ambrose in South Buffalo, St. Monica's (demolished in 1995), and Queen of the Most Holy Rosary (closed in 1993). I was curious how the inside of this church would look, would it still feel like a place of worship? I was pleasantly surprised!

Links for St. Valentine's:

Brief History written in 1929 by Rev. Thomas Donohue, D.D.

Parish History from Polish Genealogical Society of NY State

Yahoo Map

At first glance I thought that I was looking at a chimney at the back corner of the church but a closer look revealed the bell in the bell tower.

Since tropical plants are not easily available in Poland, Pussy Willows are traditionally used in place of palms on Palm Sunday. If you are from Buffalo, you are familiar with Dyngus Day, the Monday after Easter. For fun on Dyngus Day boys and girls douse of each other with water and "gently" switch each other on the legs with pussy willows. Here are some links about those traditions:

Polish Traditions from The Polish Genealogical Society of America

Polish Easter Traditions from Polish Traditions Virtual Ethnographic Museum

Dyngus Day from Online Buffalo

Origin of the name Pussy Willows