In the early winter of 1911 the Rev. Henry Dolan was appointed to establish a new parish in the northern section of Buffalo. He secured property on Esser Avenue and Henrietta Avenue, and said the first Mass on Christmas day, 1911. He soon started a fine combination brick church and school building which was completed in 1913. The brick rectory was built at the same time. A frame building on Esser Avenue was purchased in 1917 to serve as a convent for the sisters. Father Dolan was succeeded March 4, 1920, by the Rev. Michael Colligan.
Rev. Thomas Donohue, D.D., History of the Diocese of Buffalo (Buffalo, New York: The Buffalo Catholic Publication Co., Inc., 1929), p. 156.