St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church

St. St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church will close after its final Christmas Eve Mass.

The district announced this in a social media post on Sunday. It was stated that the church would be included in Dunkirk’s Holy Trinity congregation.

“The closing date was brought forward because it was feared the roof would not last through the winter and we have a potential buyer with a tight timeline for the property.” states the mail.

The last Mass to be held at the church will be the Christmas Eve midnight service. The last coffee hour after the service will be December 22.

St. The closure of St. Joseph’s was first announced by the Diocese of Buffalo in September. A closure date was not set at that time.

Closing the congregation is part of the duties of the diocese “Road to Renewal” It aimed to address declining church attendance and shortages of clergy.

Chautauqua County saw the loss of 10 more churches during the September announcement. This includes St. St. Joseph’s in Fredonia, just a few blocks from St. Joseph’s. Anthony’s is also included. St. Anthony’s is scheduled to close on February 15, 2026. Holy Trinity will also include this congregation.

St. This year marked 125 years of service since St. Joseph’s was founded in 1899. A banner in his front yard proudly proclaimed this in October. The banner was removed a few days later.