History of St. Isaac Jogues Sherman, NY

In 1866-67, Irish Catholics, who were working on the railroad, came into the area. They purchased the old Universalist Church and moved it to Park Street. When the railroad workers left, the Catholics also left and the number of Catholics decreased.Then in 1941, a parish was set up in a room over what is now the Corral Restaurant (The original two story building burned, and was rebuilt as a one story building).

Being upstairs, it was inconvenient, so the place of worship was moved to what was the former Philip Pratt Insurance office. Msgr. F. Kasprzuk, acting as a representative of Bishop Duffy, dedicated this worship spot. This remained the Catholic Chapel until October, 1946, when Bishop O'Hara dedicated the present church. Originally called Our Lady of Peace Chapel, its title was changed to St. Isaac Jogues Chapel to honor one of the North American martyrs who had been a missionary in our own state of New York. Continuous growth of the parish warranted its promotion to regular parish status and in June, 1948, Bishop O'Hara appointed Father Francis Kopec as the first priest.

The early priests included: Carl Drews, Francis McCormick, Bernard Sexton, Clair Hodnett, Edwin Fagowski, Chester Malikowski, Stanley Krzyzanowski and Henry Laskawski. We find no record of the dates these priests served.

1948-1952 Francis Kopec, 1952-1954 Thaddeus Zablotny, 1954-1959 Stanley Sypnierski, 1959-1964 James Dyree, 1964-1967 Casimir Zak, 1967-1970 Joseph Skupien, 1970-1974 Medard Pluta, 1974-1979 Matt Wendzikowski, 1979-1984 John Mitka, 1984-1989 Charles Zadora, 1989-1995 Gary Szczepankiewicz, 1995-2004 Raymond A.J. Donohue, 2005-2009 Bernard Nowiak, 2009 - present Jozef Dudzik










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	Return to History Home		St Isaac Jogues Church In 1866-67, Irish Catholics, who were working on the railroad, came into the area. They purchased the old Universalist Church and moved it to Park Street. When the railroad workers left, the Catholics also left and the number of Catholics decreased.Then in 1941, a parish was set up in a room over what is now the Corral Restaurant (The original two story building burned, and was rebuilt as a one story building). Being upstairs, it was inconvenient, so the place of worship was moved to what was the former Philip Pratt Insurance office. Msgr. F. Kasprzuk, acting as a representative of Bishop Duffy, dedicated this worship spot. This remained the Catholic Chapel until October, 1946, when Bishop O'Hara dedicated the present church. Originally called Our Lady of Peace Chapel, its title was changed to St. Isaac Jogues Chapel to honor one of the North American martyrs who had been a missionary in our own state of New York. Continuous growth of the parish warranted its promotion to regular parish status and in June, 1948, Bishop O'Hara appointed Father Francis Kopec as the first priest. The early priests included: Carl Drews, Francis McCormick, Bernard Sexton, Clair Hodnett, Edwin Fagowski, Chester Malikowski, Stanley Krzyzanowski and Henry Laskawski. We find no record of the dates these priests served. 1948-1952 Francis Kopec, 1952-1954 Thaddeus Zablotny, 1954-1959 Stanley Sypnierski, 1959-1964 James Dyree, 1964-1967 Casimir Zak, 1967-1970 Joseph Skupien, 1970-1974 Medard Pluta, 1974-1979 Matt Wendzikowski, 1979-1984 John Mitka, 1984-1989 Charles Zadora, 1989-1995 Gary Szczepankiewicz, 1995-2004 Raymond A.J. Donohue, 2005-2009 Bernard Nowiak, 2009 - present Jozef Dudzik
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